


Animorphs 64 - The Disgrace

by Adam2810



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Behind Enemy Lines, Betrayal, Claustrophobia, Gen, Infiltration, Leadership, Post-War, Trust, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29044728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adam2810/pseuds/Adam2810
Summary: The Animorphs have rescued Ax from a Kelbrid moon, butis story doesn't add up, and the absense of Kelbrids raises suspicions. Jake decides to travel to the Kyritlyp to make sure that they had the real Ax. Menderash thinks that they already have the real Ax and sees the mission as a fatal error. Jake isn't backing down, and Menderash decides to take matters into his own hands.
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is Menderash-Postill-Fastill.

I had been part of the Andalite Space Project since I was a child. I started from the bottom, urged to join up by my father, who'd worked his whole existence in a sewage facility on the outskirts of Andrill. He told me that he wanted a son who outshone him in every way, be it in strength, wit, or courtesy. He sent me to the Andrill Spaceport and told me not to come home until I was ready to show him that his dream could be a reality. I've yet to return.

He'd be wondering why I'd stopped sending messages for so long. The last he would have heard from me would've been a week before I'd boarded _Intrepid_ for the last time. I was going to return home after that, with my promotion to Ship's Officer confirmed. Only then would I have proven myself his better.

Alas, I can't ever return. My last voyage on _Intrepid_ would be her swansong, and my role would be that of a coward. A disgrace.

Since then, I'd been victim to my own cognitive dissonance of striving to rescue the person I'd hoped never to see again. The terror of coming face-to-face with the Prince I'd allowed to die was so overpowering that the thought alone sent chills to the deepest recesses of my soul.

And yet, it was my sworn duty to seek him out and save him from the danger I'd allowed to engulf him. How could I ever return to my family if I didn't? It would be the height of dishonor, the epitome of reprehensible.

How I wished to see Mother and Father again... But as a disgrace, I would not. Not unless worthy of forgiveness. Not unless I discarded the title of Disgrace.

If the planets aligned, and such a miracle occurred, then I would have to explain to them who I was and why I no longer existed as the Andalite that they once knew. That Menderash died with _Intrepid_ , replaced by the Human Menderash – or as I was illegally referred to, Eddy Jameson.

The ship that took Prince Aximili had traveled into Kelbrid Space. At the time, the _Gratt_ Border was still in place, so I could not pass it as an Andalite. I would not be able to fulfill my duty and recover the honor I'd lost.

I drifted through Space for a few days, alone in a silent escape pod. The nearest Andalite ship was _Interceptor_ , a scout ship captained by Prince Caysath-Winwall-Esgarrouth. Once rescued, I received little time to recover before my host demanded to know what had happened to _Intrepid_. Prince Caysath was a very twitchy and withheld individual, and I could not initially place his emotions when I informed him that Prince Aximili had been taken as a hostage.

It was a few days before Prince Caysath came back to me with a proposal. He explained that he and Prince Aximili were close friends during their time in the military school system and that the war hero's disappearance affected him harder than any loss he'd yet experienced. It occurred to him that the military establishment would never endorse travel across the _Gratt_ Border, not even for a Yeerk War hero. The risk was too significant, and the enemy too mysterious. Then, Prince Caysath thought that the only option that would bring immediate action would be to send a small party over the border in secret. He thought that I would be the most appropriate first choice, not only as an opportunity to revive my reputation but as somebody who knew what happened and vaguely what we would have to seek.

But I could not go alone. Prince Caysath had taken some time to consider who else would be willing to go into Kelbrid Space. The first option was an elite force of Skrit Na, known for their propensity for lengthy explorations and notably not allied with Andalites. However, after consideration, we thought them too unreliable. Space pirates were called pirates for a reason.

We eventually came to our final decision. Prince Aximili was part of a guerilla warfare group that called themselves Animorphs. They were seen as useful allies during the Yeerk War in its last days, and Prince Caysath thought that they would be close enough to Prince Aximili that they would take on the mission in a reliable and secretive manner. Once we were clear, Prince Caysath and I traveled to Earth to meet with the Animorphs' known leader: Jake Berenson.

My memories of him were fleeting. Even at the height of their fame among us Andalite, they were something of a side note. He was the only one whose name we ever heard about, besides Prince Aximili, what with him being the leader. He was but a child in years, though his face reflected that of an aged, tired warrior. When I finally met him face-to-face, it was like staring at an old photo book. Nothing had changed but for a slight discoloration. I knew from the start that life had drained from him long ago.

In front of him, I sold away my old life as an Andalite and took on my Human form as proof that my desire for redemption was absolute. Though, it probably seemed like a simple duty to him. Perhaps with a tinge of guilt. Only recently had he learned the full extent of my wretched betrayal.

My Human form has a sturdy build, and since I'd had no prior experience with the race, the adjustment seemed extreme at first, and I felt so utterly fat. I soon found out that some bodily regions must necessarily broaden and adjust to maintain a bipedal stance.

The most distinct areas of Humans, however, are in the face. I had hazel eyes and near-black, curly fur - or hair - that draped down toward my shoulders. My face was burdened with the sprouting of additional fur above my lip and cuddling my lower jaw. I'd tried the bizarre Human practice of shaving, and in the process, discovered that Human blood was a charming crimson.

I'll be honest and say that the Human body is markedly inferior to the Andalite body. Not that that is a criticism of Humans as a race – I can think of many other ways to do that which are far more convincing – but it's a simple fact that they are far weaker in a majority of factors, including speed, deadliness, and stability. Their minds are slower, too.

I never told them these thoughts. At least, I don't think I did. I didn't want to come off as snobbish and arrogant. Besides, for all the flaws I notice in the Human body itself, I am in awe at the Human spirit and sheer persistence. Whether it be through considerate bravery or foolish lack of foresight, Human perseverance is a marvelous thing to witness, and I am jealous of it.

Jake Berenson grew no warmer as I got to know him. After Caysath's greeting, I was left with Jake and have remained at his side since. I also got to meet the other surviving members of the Animorphs, and thankfully they displayed somewhat more personality. I warmed quickly to Marco, despite our mutual brashness occasionally delving us into bitter argumentation. Even as he continued to struggle with clear signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and transparently coated it with a mask of humor, his character had remained mostly intact.

The same goes for Colin Santorelli, though he is technically not one of the Animorphs – at least, not the core group that fought during the Yeerk War. His character remains as blunt and outspoken as ever. Like Marco, it was a mask to cover the damage that was accumulating beneath. It's just that his particular act is firmer and more opaque. I'd hate to be around when it finally cracks.

And the last of those carrying out the current mission is Tobias. He, like me, was a nothlit. I believe, like me, it was a choice he took, having learned of his past. The truth behind that story is one he chooses to remain blurred, and he barely speaks to anybody unless required to do so. He'd opened up to me a few times before, quite possibly because of the subtle connections we shared, but there was still much about him that he kept hidden.

The only other living Animorph was Cassie Roberts. She had joined us briefly on our mission to the Kelbrid planet _Kyritlyp_. After we'd discovered that one of our group had been spying on us for an unknown organization, Jake sent Cassie back with her to work on Earth. A supervisor, a contact, middleman… I don't know the arrangement exactly, but Cassie was deemed too essential to do the dirty work with us, despite her deep need to assist. We'd recently learned that she was still very much involved with us, albeit from the safety of Hork-Bajir territory – a race I had very little time for, after one too many scars on my old body. Monstrous beasts…

There is a great debate in my mind whether the Animorphs genuinely exist at all anymore. What was left was wholly absorbed into _Enrich_.

_Enrich_ …

Jake Berenson's greatest mistake. I'd heard of the acts that he'd considered errors in the past. The only death of the Animorphs – Rachel – was primarily attributed to him, as were the deaths of many thousands of defenseless Yeerks. Good riddance, I say…

But above those and many other errors, _Enrich_ stood like a wart. My initial skepticism of the place had been bolstered when we discovered that an Andalite fraud was a co-founder. Asaccah-Sirivit-Quikerik had allied with the enemy to begin a criminal organization whose supposed goal was to end injustice. In truth, I could see no other aim than theft on the grandest scale. They would steal the Universe's most remarkable technologies from the greatest races through subversion, and they would hoard it to themselves. They strut through an obscure corner of their galaxy like the fattest aristocrats, fiddling in the affairs of any race they deem unjust.

They had stolen Andalite technology. An upgraded Escafil Device I'd never heard of and that had not even come out of testing. It was one that Asaccah personally took, and it was one that, at the time, I had been compelled to use to continue my duty. I regretted that decision immediately, despite the freedom it granted. In the end, nothing would ever bring my old body back.

In light of it all, Jake Berenson still went ahead with his decision to unite our forces. From that moment on, I would be chained, and irreversibly so. The only way out would probably cost me my life. For as long as I was associated with the traitor Asaccah, I would always be a disgrace.

I lost a lot of respect for Jake Berenson then. I had already decided that he was no Prince, but now I feel a genuine disdain. Only my respect for his involvement in the Yeerk War and my sick desire to rescue Prince Aximili compelled me to continue at his side.

And now that we had finally found Prince Aximili, he believed that we'd been tricked. He was a fool.

I understand that Jake would have many reasons to carry some paranoia. After all, a leader needs paranoia to guard against complacency. However, paranoia left unchecked becomes irrationality. We found Prince Aximili dehydrated and starving, hidden in a deep bunker on an obscure moon. There were no Kelbrids in view, and we were able to retrieve him with ease. It is not beyond the abilities of a capable military Andalite to escape capture and remain hidden. It is something they're trained to do!

Prince Aximili expressed curiosity, and why wouldn't he? He had every right to know how his rescuers came to his aid, especially when it's clear that the ships used to do so were entirely unfamiliar, and the pilot a fugitive murderer.

And the co-ordinates to The One… there could be many reasons for the mismatch. For one thing, I didn't trust _Enrich_ 's resident Kelbrid, Burr-Ammit, to hand over his own race's confidential information truthfully. No matter the Kelbrid reputation for fidelity, we'd already seen their permissiveness of subversive tactics.

Now Prince Aximili was lying chained on a makeshift table in the engine room of a ship built by a race I'd never heard about. He lay unconscious, strapped down to the metal surface on his side with insulating cables. His proud tail was locked in place by a belt, holding it snugly against a sturdy titanium pole. How long would this charade continue? How long till I bypassed the opinions of lowly Humans and took matters into my own hands?

Unfortunately, I was never one to hide my feelings well. Jake Berenson knew that I was loosening from his grip and would not leave me alone with my sleeping Prince. With Colin Santorelli on guard duty, I wasn't going to get anything done that way.

Jake was leading us back to _Kyritlyp_ on a foolish, needless mission. We would find that Ax had indeed escaped and hope to leave unscathed with one of the fiercest militaries on our tail. It was a stupid mission and one that might end with us all dead.

What was I to do?

I gazed across Prince Aximili's body as it breathed lightly. They'd injected him with enough drugs to keep him out of action for several hours. The same fate had befallen the bizarre creature we referred to as Groof. I glanced to the left, where the insectoid alien had been strapped down. His situation didn't require my attention, let alone urgency.

I knew it to be the true Aximili. I knew it. I trusted him far more than the denizens of _Enrich_.

"Hey, Mendy! Stick with me!"

The clicking Human fingers infiltrated my vision and my hearing. Santorelli had grown frustrated with my silence.

"You're takin' up my breathin' space," he uttered. "All I ask is for enough room to kick my feet up. You're in my feet kickin' zone, so unless you're bringin' my dinner, I suggest you scram."

"I was merely checking on Prince Aximili," I replied.

"Minute he starts chokin' on engine dust, I'll give you a call."

"Thank you…" I uttered, recognizing his tone but choosing the easy way out. I left the engine compartment and stepped back into the bridge, where a whole host of other eyes were there to watch me.

I'd never felt so claustrophobic.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I gazed long and hard at the gold-blue face of the Kelbrid planet through the ship's visor. Its beauty was tormenting.

"Everybody's here. Mendy," Jake called, bringing my sullen eyes away.

I stood tall beside the main console, casting my sights over the pensive crew. Their faces showed the apprehension of an upcoming mission, their emotions falling by the wayside to be replaced by something stern and heartless.

"We're hiding against the shadow of the largest Kelbrid moon," Jake announced. "The cloak is up, so nobody should spot us."

"Question is," Marco chimed in. "How do we get into the atmosphere with getting our asses lasered?"

"That's the more difficult part," Jake replied.

<I could try,> Tobias said. He was in his hawk body, perched within an empty storage cupboard on the starboard bulkhead. <I'm not as confident about it as I am with Space travel.>

Jake shook his head. "Too risky."

"Think we can convince Groof to give a helpin' claw?" Santorelli suggested.

Marco huffed a humorless laugh. "After we mutinied and strapped him to table? I'm not sure he's going to be happy to help."

Jake replied, "If we explain to him that he may well die if he doesn't help us, I think he'd consider it. It's our best option."

"I disagree, Jake," I proclaimed. "We've already done enough damage. We have no conclusive evidence that the information we've got is trustworthy. We're heading into the heart of enemy territory in a ship we don't understand, with a pilot we've just mutinied against. The best option for us is to leave before we get ourselves killed."

I waited for any hint of support. From Marco. From Tobias… and nothing arrived at my aid. I received nothing more than a disinterested stare from Jake.

They'd gone off the deep end. It was madness, pure and simple.

In the end, my suggestion received little more than an acknowledging nod. My opinion was heard and wastefully discarded.

"We will land in close proximity to the capital city," Jake said. "South-south-west, as close to the base as possible. The security systems will be much like we saw at the military base the last time we came here, guarded at all entrances but non-restrictive to wildlife. Firstly, we scout the local surroundings. Take note of buildings, streets, and possible escape routes should things get messy."

Marco added, "Hiding spots, too. For any morph size. You think we'll be morphing big?"

"Battle morphs at the largest. Keep that in mind when scanning the area," Jake clarified. "Count the guards and the entrances. Once we're satisfied, we can infiltrate the base walls. Same again: Scanning and surveying. Know the environment. That's vital."

"What are we expectin', boss?" Santorelli asked. "Weedy science-y types? Or are the rasta-lookin' bastards packin' heat?"

"Expect the worst," he said. "If The One is as important to their goals as they say, then it's going to be more protected than anything we've seen so far."

"Think national guard, FBI, and the US military rolled into one and jacked up with more steroids than a Russian Olympian," Marco warned helpfully.

Jake continued, "We need to remember that we have a smaller number now. We don't have Jeanne and Cassie around this time, so we're going to have to put more work in. We could be scanning for a couple of days. Do not rush this. It's our lives at stake. We'll schedule a rest period for demorphing so that we always have three at work and one looking after Groof."

I took note of those specific numbers. I was not included among them.

"We'll morph _Kelbird_ for this part of the mission. We will survey and come back with our findings before we go any further. Do not do anything that may get you caught or harmed. Stay high, stay natural, and stay calm. Once we have enough info, we can think about a full infiltration."

"Kelbrid morph?" Santorelli asked.

"No," Jake said. "We can't risk being seen as unauthorized."

"Yeah, we know how that turns out…" Marco uttered with a grimace.

"Don't worry about that yet. We get to the planet's surface and carry out the recce. Sarge, Tobias, let's get Groof in."

There was a short dispersal as they went aft to the engine room to fetch Groof. Marco, Jake, and I remained in the bridge, where I let my true feelings be known.

"This will likely end with us dead," I predicted. "We don't have detailed plans of the building interiors, and they're bound to be heavily fortified."

"That's why we do the preliminary recce," Jake replied assuredly. "If we can't find a way in, then we try something else."

I shook my head in anger. "We have the real Prince Aximili! What evidence do we have of clones, other than the word of a Kelbrid we have no reason to trust in?"

He sighed. "We've gone over this, Mendy…"

"Not enough. You're leading us into nonsensical suicide."

Jake looked to the cold flooring and pursed his lips. He was contemplating. After a hushed exhale, he addressed Marco. "Tell the others to wait in the engine room. Mendy and I need a private chat."

Marco left without a word and disappeared aft, leaving me with Jake. I stood my ground, upright before the main console.

The de facto leader paced as if each step was a thought process clutched and then discarded for the next to arrive. He'd always been careful with his words for as long as I'd known him, such was his tendency to be cold and almost-robotic in his approach. Strict fingers ran through his scruffy facial hair.

"We clearly have a problem, don't we?" he suggested blandly, finally folding his restless arms across his chest.

I nodded, a Human method of simple interaction I'd quickly picked up. "Yes, we do."

He asked the vital question straight-up. "Do you accept my leadership?"

It was not a simple question, no matter how I looked at it. It was something that I had to consider, and I did, well aware that my answer could have severe consequences down the line. I had to be diplomatic. "You are the leader of the Animorphs. I respect that and will defer to you as such. However, I do not believe that I was ever officially assigned to the group, and I consider myself an outsider. If you disagree with that, then I believe that to be the first logical area of discussion."

"The Animorphs thing," he started. "Isn't real anymore. It ended years ago. I guess that was never made official, either."

"Then what are you the leader of?" I asked him.

He shrugged and unfurled his arms, gazing at me so long that I thought he was looking past me. "You know, I never claimed to be a leader. It just… happened. I didn't go through any ceremonies, didn't receive any documents, or whatever. I was just told that I was the leader. I didn't know why at first, but I also understood that it was true. I never asked people to follow me. They just did. That's something that I sometimes forget. I can't force you to follow me, Mendy, but at the same time, I can't allow you to get in my way."

"Is that a threat?"

He chuckled, which I found surprising. "In war, everything is a threat."

I felt angry, and I stepped forward, equal to his height, and almost pressed against him. It was a natural Human instinct that I felt compelled to give in to. "I am not doing this as some petty protest," I told him. "I have not known you long, Jake, but I've known you long enough to understand that you fight for the right causes. I cannot stand aside while you throw everything we've worked for into the fire. You are leading good people to their deaths! And I know who is truly threatening me. I'm not a fool."

He said nothing. Instead, he continued to watch like I was a clue to his next investigation.

I said, "Surote has you wrapped around his slimy little fins. I will never forgive myself for allowing you to sign us away to him, or his traitor friend, Asaccah."

I stepped away from my confrontational posture and retreated to the main console. Jake stayed firmly in place, barely moved an inch.

_He remained silent.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

They wheeled Groof in on Jake's go-ahead. That ghastly body of his was shown minimal dignity in how it was tied firmly to a metal table, his lower half strewn sideways, and his menacing claws laid out as if in a motion for surrender. He was asleep, noticeable by the way his head dangled down toward his abdomen, rather than being at alert. He had no eyelids, after all, with which to tell if he was unconscious.

Santorelli stepped out of the way as the hulking Hork-Bajir Tobias lifted the table so that its hostage stood vertically, balanced on the two lower legs. It was sturdy enough for Tobias to back away without the risk of it collapsing back down. Whether his struggling would change that, we'd soon find out.

"Groof?" Jake spoke.

The alien was motionless.

Jake then nodded curtly to Santorelli, who stepped to the side to rummage through the ship's dedicated medical cabinet, placed firmly in the corner at the rear of the compartment. He returned swiftly with a syringe, complete with an unnervingly oversized needle.

"Rise and shine, buttercup," Santorelli uttered before realizing that he didn't know quite where to inject. After a brief deliberation, he found a spot and buried the needle between the insectoid creature's two exoskeletal plates. He emptied the container.

Mere seconds later, Groof bolted awake. His head leveled and then swiveled to assess the situation. He looked to his debilitated claws and down to his lower body, quickly realizing that he was immobile for all intents and purposes.

"Sorry, Groof," Jake said, and it sounded genuine.

"Why am I tied to this surface?" he asked. "I can't move my claws."

Jake replied, "We needed to take this opportunity. It's nothing personal, and we don't want to hurt you. We won't hurt you."

"This is my ship!" he garbled with the strange mouth that he had. "You… You've… What you've done is illegal!"

"We're here to save Ax. The real Ax," Jake explained. "We're just outside of the Kelbrid planet's atmosphere, and we're locking onto Burr-Ammit's co-ordinates. What we need is for you to help us land."

Groof's eyes scanned the ship's cockpit ahead of him. The golden _Kyritlyp_ was gradually taking over the entirety of our view from right to left. He knew straight away that Jake was telling the truth, and he jerked his limbs once, testing the strength of his constraints.

"Will you help us?" Jake pressed.

"You want to land the ship at the second-largest Kelbrid city?" Groof asked. Then, he made his race's disturbing laughter sound. "You Humans are not well known for your abilities of self-preservation!"

Marco stepped into his range of vision. "This isn't joke-time, dude. Besides, that's my job."

"But your jokes aren't funny…" Groof replied with genuine bafflement.

Marco snorted. "Bullshit."

"Hey!" Jake uttered abruptly, following with a snapping of his fingers. "Come on; we're on limited time. Groof, we need you to help us land. If you do, we'll make sure you're rewarded for this little inconvenience."

"What if I refuse?"

Jake shrugged. "We try ourselves, with little knowledge of the controls."

"So…" Groof muttered. "My choice is to help you get killed, or get killed unwillingly. You Humans have the worst dichotomies!"

"That may be so," Jake said. "But you still have to make that choice."

Groof rumbled strangely in his upper abdomen. It was a function I'd not seen from him. It must have been a symptom of nervousness. Whatever the case, he took his time in responding.

"What happens when we get there?" he asked.

"We find Ax. Then we leave," Jake said, reducing what was a detailed plan into two direct sentences.

Groof looked down at his claws. "Do I have to stay strapped to this table?"

Jake nodded. "We'll leave you in good company. You'll have plenty of bonding time."

Groof scanned the room hopefully. "Marco? Colin?"

"Keep guessing," Marco said.

"… Tobias?"

"Try again."

I grew frustrated and found myself blurting out, "It's me, Groof. I will be permanently stationed here during the mission."

"Oh. But Andalites are notorious for their lack of humor."

I huffed. "I'm not one for humor."

"That's for sure," Santorelli added.

Jake stepped closer to Groof, maintaining his rocksteady stance. "Santorelli will be here, too, for the first few hours. We'll be doing shifts. We're going to survey the area before we head inside for Ax, but only if we're certain of a clear route in. We can't let you go because it would put the mission at risk, but we'll make sure to keep you comfortable. Mendy will make sure of that."

He cast me a sideways glance. He meant it, which of course, indicated that I would be some butler to the monster's whims. The thought pained me greatly.

"I'm not sure I like this idea," Groof grumbled.

"You ain't got much of a choice," Santorelli told him. "But hey, could be worse. Just be thankful that you've been tied up by your friends and not somebody else."

"Is this what Human friends do to each other?"

Santorelli replied, "Depends how close the friends are."

Groof took a while to consider his very limited options. Jake tapped his fingers against the ship's control panel, waiting with growing impatience for an answer. I was left to stew in my frustration, and when Jake's eyes met mine, I looked immediately away.

To Jake's satisfaction, Groof relented. "Are you familiar with the console layout?"

Tobias stepped in from the shadows, causing a spooked jitter from the insectoid captive.

"Tobias will be able to follow your orders," Jake explained. "He knows the layout well enough. He just needs your directions."

Groof squawked when Tobias came up behind the table and gave it a shove. It scraped achingly across the floor until Groof was able to gaze over the concise console that guided the ship. Tobias stepped beside him and waited for his instructions.

My mind wandered off in a separate direction as Groof reluctantly led us down towards _Kyritlyp_. I stepped back into the shadows against the port bulkhead, and my vision glazed as I delved deep into my headspace.

More and more, I was finding myself at odds with them. Jake, most of all. How long would it be before I met the same fate as Jeanne? How much worse would it be for me, now that I was irreversibly tied to _Enrich_?

Would such a secretive organization allow me to wander free?

There was something so sinister behind it all, I thought. Why would a group fighting for universal justice have to hide so deep in the obscurest corner of the universe? Did they suspect backlash from races that were appalled at _Enrich_ 's willful negligence of their laws? Surely, no sane race would see the free distribution of vital new technologies as a form of justice. I could only picture the Andalite scientists who worked so hard on the Escafil device upgrades, their horror at realizing that their work had been stolen and gifted to a member of a band of thieves.

And for what purpose? Of what justice did _Enrich_ speak? Did they stop the Yeerk War? Did they free the Mak or intercept in Prince Aximili's capture?

No, of course, they didn't. It came as no surprise when I found out that most residents of _Enrich_ were politicians. I imagined them hearing of the Yeerk enslavement of many races and sitting around a vast table, delicacies at their fingertips and talking about how unjust it all was.

Who stopped the Yeerks? The allied Earth forces. Surote wasn't there, and nor was the traitor Asaccah.

Marco had echoed such feelings before when we first arrived on _Enrich_. There was no such thing as objective justice. Justice for one is inherently an injustice for another. The Yeerks, for example, had evolved a great ability to gain the incredible power of sight so that they could witness the beauty of the universe around them. Their freedom came at a price, however, that many other innocent souls had to pay.

I realized that my eyes had drifted to the floor. I refocused and drew them to Groof, still feeding instructions to Tobias. He showed very little resistance to the mutiny that had come upon him. He joked and conversed as if nothing serious had occurred. Why? Had he discarded all principles? Did he think of himself in such lowly terms relative to some grand theory of justice? He was allowing – no, _helping_ us take control of his ship. What disease could have entered his mind? What level of brainwashing? No Andalite Prince would let a mutinous crew take such liberties.

He may have seen himself as nothing more than a cog in a machine. To him, perhaps, no life mattered but the living depiction of some eternal, objective justice. It was a religion with no God. It was disgusting, sacrilegious.

Everything was for the mysterious greater good.

And that was what Jake had surrendered to.

If what I suspected was right, and Groof had no underlying principles behind his actions, then he could easily be swayed. I could work him to my advantage. When the time came, I could ask him to take me far from _Enrich_ and erase me from their records. I could be free of their trap.

"That's one hell of a freeway…"

Marco's floating comment brought my attention back to the nose of the bridge. The Kelbrid planet had crept close enough to block out the blackness of Space entirely. I could make out the finer details of continental coastlines, and where the Sun's horizon left shadows on the surface, the golden glow of cities lit up the night. What had drawn Marco's attention was coming from our port side. It was a vast line of ships, probably three across and four down, gradually making their way through a traffic lane marked with orange beacons. There must have been hundreds of them.

"Most of them are Kelbrid ships," Groof noted. "You can always tell them apart because of their thrusters. See how they exude a pink glow? That's lithium chloride. No other race uses it as Space fuel. It's a bizarre chemical process, which is funny because they are also a bi-"

"Yes, thank you, Groof," Jake sighed. He, too, had grown tired of Groof's jokes. "Let's just concentrate on remaining undetected."

"Yeah," Marco chided in. "They'll hear us when we're scrunched over in laughter."

"Human laughter is not powerful enough to penetrate the hull of my ship, unlike the laughter of the Droofinuo!" Groof chuckled. "Tobias, adjust course, fifteen starboard."

<Fifteen starboard,> Tobias repeated, clicking his claws against the entourage of buttons and switches laid out before him.

The planet came closer and closer still as we steadily moved parallel to the main traffic route. I spotted Mak ships, a Ssstram cruiser, and an Oo battleship. There were some ships whose origins I couldn't figure out. It was a tremendous interplanetary traffic route, and it made the strength of the Kelbrid alliances ever more evident. The trade routes were alive and strong. The ships within it were gleaming and sleek. Unlike us Andalites, the Kelbrids had maintained good relationships with the races in their vicinity.

Around Andal, there were only ever Andalite ships. Was that a weakness or a strength?

We'd been to _Kyritlyp_ recently, so I knew what to expect when the details of the second-largest city came into view. The Kelbrids had a great wonder of artistry, it seemed, with buildings sweeping and dancing on the landscape. They strutted in waves and bursts like the tips of flames, often wicked but with a charming gracefulness. Part of me hated admitting it, but it put ours to shame in an aesthetic sense. I doubted the practicality, though. Even Human homes would probably be sturdier, especially if a natural disaster were to hit.

The Kelbrids were specks on the ground as they waded through the streets. Despite that, the crimsons and golds donned by military personnel stuck out plainly. Every so often, I would catch the shimmering of the deadly rifles of their infantrymen. Around the base – both in and out of the high, prominent walls – the personnel marched as dutiful, obedient soldiers.

Again, my mind placed them comparably against my own people. The Kelbrids were a strong military force. We, too, considered ourselves to be heavily interested in maintaining arms in case of volatile activity, both at ground level and from outside parties, but rarely would armed soldiers patrol the streets. Not only did they guard the streets on their homeworld, but we'd also seen it on _Makroovi_. Their military was so closely intertwined with the general population. Were the same to happen on Andal, the civilians would be up in arms. It simply wasn't done.

Groof spoke louder to address a question to Jake. "How close to the base shall we go?"

Jake was beside him, gazing out from the bridge at the city horizon. "Is there anything around the base that will detect the ship?"

Groof chuckled with a stuttered wheezing noise. "If the base has radars, we would already be well within their range.."

Marco asked, "Can those radars detect us? I mean, I know we've cloaked, but…"

"Silly Human!" Groof chortled. "You underestimate the technology that we have compiled!"

_Stolen_ … I thought.

"Our ship is designed to deflect radar signals in such a way that we are nigh-impossible to detect from a distance!"

"… So that's a no, right?" Marco asked.

"It is!" Groof replied.

"So long as you're confident," Marco commented. "I just see all these guns around. I want to get to the end of today without being disintegrated."

"Have faith in our technology," Groof reassured. "Even if we were spotted, the Kelbrid homing beacons would have us killed before we even knew it. Our deaths would be entirely painless!"

"Well, can't complain about that!" Santorelli spoke.

Jake said, "Take us to an area with few Kelbrids around. Somewhere the ship can't be stumbled upon."

"I can't see the radars from here…" Groof replied, straining to look over at the left side of the console.

Santorelli acted immediately, barging his bulky Human arms against the side of Groof's table. With an ear-wrenching squeal, the table scraped sideways, giving its captive a good view of the local radar.

"Perfect!" Groof cheered. "Okay… There appears to be a quiet area, thirty-two portside, three-point-three elvets away."

Tobias fiddled at the controls with rigid fingers and turned the ship to follows the new directions. I had no knowledge of elvets, but the ship soon began to lower, and I could see that we were not too far from the military base's boundary, so the unit of measurement would have been small. We were perhaps a five-minute walk from the perimeter.

The ship finally settled atop a seemingly lifeless, flat-topped structure, far enough from the ground to avoid somebody wandering into an invisible hull. The hum of the engines dulled down to a noiseless-existence.

"Is this what I think it is?" I heard Marco ask.

"Construction site," Jake confirmed. "As good a place as any. Okay, let's get set. Sarge, Mendy, you'll stay back first. The rest of us will start. The quicker we do this, the better."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jake, Marco, and Tobias morphed what we had coined the _Kelbird_. It was like a chimera of a rodent and a bird, and it had one single wing that spread across its back. I had never acquired the morph, but that was a redundant point because I was not central to the mission.

The three small creatures bobbed up and down on the floor, testing their wings and their senses. They were the perfect disguise, being so common. We'd seen a few flying past the ship within the few minutes of us landing.

"Man, I don't miss those things," Santorelli said, shaking his head pitiably. "I used to call pigeons rats with wings. Startin' to feel like I owe them an apology."

<Three hours,> Jake ordered. <Then we come back and swap roles. We could be in for a long survey. Sarge? Have you got the cameras?>

Santorelli revealed a small purple container. "Got 'em right here, boss."

Groof had willingly directed us to the container. It held a series of tiny cameras, barely half an inch in diameter, which could be tied to a moving object and used as a visual sensor. They were small exploration probes, but for this mission, they'd be strapped to the voluntary _Kelbirds_. Before he'd morphed, Jake ensured to pair them with the ship's control panel. We would be able to see everything that they saw.

Santorelli held out his palm, and one of the creatures flew up. I'd forgotten who was who.

"Mendy, man, help me out," Santorelli requested, indicating by hand movement alone that he didn't have the dexterity to attach the camera with just the five digits he had available. I reached into the container and pulled out the minute, circular object. It had an adjustable strap on the rear, meant to hold it against metal poles, but equally suited to the slender legs of an alien rodent-bird.

I tied it snugly to the left leg of each of the _Kelbirds_ , and Santorelli placed them each beside the ship's main hatch. Groof, now turned to face the center of the compartment, tried to move his head in the main console's direction. "Okay, now you just have to activate the feed. The third switch on the left of panel two."

I observed the vast array of switches and dials and found the one to which he'd referred. When I flicked it, a screen to my right flashed up, split into four equal corners. One remained black, but the others showed impressively clear images that came straight from the three cameras. I received three different views of Santorelli's legs. On the second image, I saw myself in the distance observing the screen.

"The cameras are functional," I confirmed.

<Okay, let's go,> Jake said.

They left through the hatch, disappearing out into the Kelbrid atmosphere. Santorelli came beside me to watch the monitors that tracked their every movement. At first, they all headed in the same direction, but then they dispersed for a separate segment of the vast military base. Each division of the screen took our sights on a unique path, zooming over and under Kelbrid structures and statues. Denizens wandered by, some seemingly just Kelbrids going about their day, some brandishing the telltale signs of military personnel. All other aliens were dressed in protective clothing, designed to avoid unfortunate accidents involving the horrible Kelbrid toxins.

But that was all of little interest in comparison to the base itself. Through my peers, I could see the scope of the place. I could see armed troops marching in unison, standing guard, and going about various forms of training. The place was both swarming and highly ordered. It was like clockwork. In comparison, the Yeerk Empire was a fumbling, bumbling mess of fools.

And for the longest time, the Yeerks had us beat.

"We shall consider ourselves lucky," I noted to nobody in particular, "If we find one single leak to exploit. We are not dealing with incompetents. These Kelbrids are nothing, if not prepared."

"Every race has its weakness!"

I turned to Groof, whose chirped statement came as an innate affront. "Of course, you would know that," I accused. "As much as I despise the Kelbrids, I acknowledge their right to security."

Santorelli stepped forward, "Chill, Mendy. Everybody spies on everybody else. That's just… it!"

"It's not spying that is my biggest issue," I said. "It's the theft. It's the underhanded stealing of every race's greatest technologies in the name of some vague justice that nobody asked for."

Groof chuckled, and that only irritated me further. I was thankful for his restraints because that was all that deterred me from hitting him with my clunky Human fists. "They never ask for what they don't know exists! What we do is good for everyone! Don't you think so?"

I shook my head. "I think you're brainwashed. You would sacrifice your principles for the _greater good_. Look at the Yeerks! Look at what happened when they were gifted technology they were unable to comprehend! And yet, the fool Surote would gladly hand out the greatest technologies of the universe to any race considered the victims of injustice. It's a path of stupidity that will cause the death of many, and Jake has taken us along for the ride."

Santorelli pursed his lips and looked off into the distance. My criticism came as awkward to the pair of them. Their indifference sickened me.

"I do not wish to be a part of it," I announced. "Once Prince Aximili is rescued – assuming he has not been so already," I indicated to the aft compartment where he lay. "I will take him back to Andal, and we shall break our ties."

Santorelli shrugged. "Whatever, man. So long as you're here helpin' us now. S'far as I know, we were splittin' as soon as we found him, anyway."

I stared at Groof, urging a response from him.

"I'm just the pilot!" he uttered. "I don't know the arrangements."

I sighed and let my shoulders drop. I realized that I'd tensed up firmly at the instinctual thought of confrontation. "I still believe that we have Prince Aximili. He's in there, tied to a table, and yet we persist in endangering our lives with no proof to the contrary."

"Mendy, my man," Santorelli said, stepping over to give me a firm slap on the shoulder. "Why d'ya think Jake's takin' this so slow? We're just makin' sure! If we just take this guy to be the real Ax, and he turns out to be some weird clone-spy thing, then we're all fucked! Probably worth us, you know… makin' sure."

"Perhaps there is another way to find out," I speculated. "If we could inspect him…"

"No can do, Curls," Santorelli replied. _Curls_ was probably some spontaneous nickname due to the natural style of my Human body's head fur. "Orders from the boss. I ain't allowed to let you back there."

"Does he truly distrust me that much?" I asked.

Santorelli shrugged again with his monstrous shoulders. "When you got a hungry kid, you put the cookie jar on the top shelf!"

Groof insightfully added, "Or when a Sharf Den is ovulating, make sure to strap them firmly to the ceiling!"

"Don't take offense, is all I'm sayin'," Santorelli said.

"It's hard not to," I replied.

"You know what my Dad always used to tell me?"

"What?" I asked.

"Grow some balls."

I didn't know quite how to react to the suggestion with anything substantive. In a way, the confusion calmed my nerves. Strange how that works. "Your father clearly had a way with words."

"Peoples' poet," Santorelli laughed. "Come on, get yerself some liquid and somewhere to sit. We're gonna be here a while."

He strutted over to a water dispenser and filled up a green, metal flask. I followed suit, finding a small plastic cup. Water would perhaps bring some clarity to my addled mind. Then I joined Santorelli in sitting down against the starboard bulkhead, where we could still have a clear view of the monitors. Jake, Marco, and Tobias were tentatively exploring exterior to the base walls.

"You never told me much about your father," I said to Santorelli after a sip of my water.

He took a much larger gulp and snapped the stopper of his flask loudly back in place. Even his most subtle, unimportant motions were performed with such bombast. "When yer Dad dies, it's not somethin' people talk about that much."

"Understandable…" I uttered. "Sorry."

"Nothin' to be sorry about," he replied. "I'm over the worst."

I said, "From what I know, he died during the Secret War. To die in battle is to die a hero."

To my surprise, Santorelli smirked and shook his head. "Got shot in the back. He weren't fightin' nobody. He didn't die like a hero. He died like a turkey at Thanksgivin'."

"I don't understand…"

"Yeah, we were runnin'. Bein' a fat fuck, Dad was slower than I was and an easier target. Caught in the back with a Dracon. Poor bastard."

I was shocked at how brazenly he spoke of his recollection. Santorelli was no ordinary Human, I suppose.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, my friend," I said. "But you speak of it like an action scene from one of the Human movies that Marco has told me about."

Santorelli looked at me, puzzled. "What? Oh, yeah. Well, once you seen it all, you forget emotion. It just becomes normal."

"But I've seen you act so differently."

The smile that he'd maintained disappeared. "Huh?"

"Back on Ooguui," I explained. "After we escaped the Yeerk base."

Suddenly, his lips tightened. He knew of the incident. I'd seen him run down a Mak juvenile while his bull morph rampaged. It was not his fault. It was an accident, but that was his last involvement in the brawl, and for the rest of that day, he was a changed Human.

"I don't like it when kids are involved," he said sternly, reopening his flask. "Not Human kids. Not Mak kids… Not any. That ain't normal, and it never will be."

"And when we infiltrated the prison," I added.

After finishing another gargantuan gulp from his flask, he scrunched his face up in discomfort and spat, "What is this? Some counseling shit?"

I thought it best to cease my inquisition there. "My apologies. I didn't think it would upset you to such a degree."

"There's some shit I can't stand," he told me, jabbing a thick finger against the floor between us to staple further the point he was making. "My Dad died in a war. That shit happens. Kids dyin' in war shouldn't happen. Ever."

"What happened on Ooguui was not your fault," I said. "It was a sad thing to happen."

"Yeah, I get that," he sighed. "The prison, though… I dunno, man. I can't get that outta my head."

"You have a great pride in the Human tribe known as America," I suggested. "That's a bond that you probably won't ever break."

"Too right," he agreed.

"I, too, have my bonds," I told him. "My bond is to my Prince and my people. I would do anything to protect them, even if that means disobeying the orders of my perceived allies."

"Yeah… Yeah, man, I get that."

I believed that he did. Perhaps he would start to see things from my perspective.

"Would you abandon your country, your principles, for Jake?" I asked. "How about for _Enrich_?"

Santorelli thought. A big hand scratched at the tiny, prickly remnants of fur on his head. "This is when I tell ya I ain't good at philisophosin'."

"Philosophizing," I corrected.

"Yeah, that," he said. "I got my dad's brain. Damn thing's like Swiss cheese."

"Was your father not an intelligent person?" I asked.

"Well," Santorelli uttered, readjusting his legs and gazing thoughtfully to the far side of the compartment. "I mean, the guy wasn't science-y smart. He dropped outta school in sixth grade. But y'know what? The guy was a tactical genius. Joined the army, started from the bottom, and worked his way up faster than an F-22! He didn't have book-smart. He had fightin’-smart."

"And you believe that you take after him?"

"You could say that," he said. "Alls I know is that I didn't get Mom's brain."

"You've never mentioned your mother."

"My mom was a bitch," he asserted bluntly.

"Ah…" I decided it best not to pursue that particular point further.

Santorelli looked at me again, tapping on his metal flask. "Hey, you're pokin' me about my personal life. We never hear anythin' from you. I mean, damn, I thought Jeanne was secretive! Yet I probably know more about her than I know about you. Come up, fess up. Where did you get your brains?"

"My brains are a culmination of DNA from my mother and my father. I haven't decided whose majority I received."

"Your parents still around?" he asked me.

"Yes. I assume so."

"Do they know where you are now? Do they know about… you know?" he waggled a finger at my Human body.

"They know nothing," I replied. "My father is still waiting for me to return as an officer in the Andalite military. I was close to promotion when I boarded _Intrepid_. Now, I will never be worthy in his eyes."

"What, was he some general, or something?" he asked. "Some douchebag who wants you to do exactly as he did?"

"No," I replied. "My father worked in… low-wage labor."

"So why the fuck is he expecting you to be some big-time officer if he's stuck in some piece-a-shit job?" he asked, appalled.

"I am the hope for the family name. I was the first in our family to pass base education standards. I am an anomaly in the family genetics, and so I am the one they hope will bring the family a better standing. They told me to concentrate on my studies, to become an officer, and to do so, I would have to abandon the constraints of family ties. Father said… Father said that he was an anchor that held me back from my potential. Now…"

I felt a tightness in my chest, a strange feeling. I saw the faces of my parents. I saw their reaction to their son returning home in a body that was not his. I saw the labels of what I'd become plastered to my posture and my solemn face.

“Now?” Santorelli pressed.

"I can never bring them the glory they desired."

"Fuck 'em."

I didn't understand his reaction. "F-… excuse me?"

"Fuck 'em!"

I searched his eyes for any reason, any message I was missing. "I don't…"

For the third time, he repeated, "Fuck 'em! They don't control you! Damn it, Mendy, find your own goddamn way in life. If they're so desperate for glory, they should get it themselves!"

I struggled to contemplate the thought. "But… my father works in sanitation."

"So what?! Mendy, my blue dude, I have a brain like pig shit! And look at me: I'm out here in Space. How many guys with brains like mine have ever gone to Space? If I'd stayed in school any longer than I did, I'd probably be working in some shitty fast food joint or pickin' up trash on the street corner. You make your own damn way in life!"

Santorelli was firm in his conviction. Maybe he had a point. "I think I see what you're getting at."

He continued, regardless. "If your mom and dad want success, they shouldn't rely on you to bring it home for them. When you get it, it ain't theirs, neither. You just remember that!"

"I can't get it," I said. "I abandoned my Prince. I am a disgrace."

"Oh, shut the fuck up, man!" he ordered. "You're here, ain't ya? You gave up your own body! Sure, you did somethin' shitty before, but you're here tryin'a make it right. Don't that count for anythin'?"

"Not in the eyes of-"

Santorelli chuckled pitifully. "Mendy, Mendy! Repeat after me: Fuck 'em."

"Must I?"

"Fuck. 'Em."

"Fuck 'em…" I obeyed, admittedly weakly.

"Say it like you mean it!" Santorelli boomed.

"Fuck 'em," I said with somewhat more urgency. "Fuck 'em!"

Suddenly, Santorelli was upon his feet, standing before me with undeniable intimidation. He snorted like a bull. "Are you a disgrace?!"

"Yes…" I replied.

"Stand up!" he barked, and I quickly relented. I rose and stood before him, wondering why it suddenly felt like I was back in basic training. He repeated the question, but louder and with more fervor. "Are you a disgrace?!"

"I…"

"The answer is no!" he told me, practically screaming. I saw the blood vessels tracking up his neck. "Are you a disgrace?!"

"You… I… Maybe!"

"The answer is no, son! Why are you here?!"

"To rescue my Prince," I replied.

"Is that a good thing?!"

"It is my duty."

"Are you doing your duty?!"

"Yes, I'm doing my duty."

"Are you doing your duty?!"

"I'm doing my duty!"

"Who's in charge of Mendy?!"

The question took me by surprise. I hesitated.

"Answer me, son! Who's in charge of you?!"

"I am."

"Too damn right!" Santorelli shouted. "Now I don't wanna hear none of that bullshit again, you hear?!"

"I hear, I hear," I said, still feeling a little too intimidated by his closeness. To my relief, he backed down. I appreciated his tactic, and to some degree, it felt like the message was punched firmly enough into my skull to stick, but that didn't make the feelings of the moment any less uncomfortable.

A meaty hand landed on my shoulder, and Santorelli smiled at me. It was the most genuine smile I'd ever seen. "Mendy, so long as you're with us, you ain't a disgrace."

It was not something I would ever expect from one of my own. Andalites were a stubborn, strict race. If you made a mistake, you were not to receive praise or even respect. You were told to right your wrongs, lest you be forever remembered for your failings.

With Humans, it felt different. Was that to their detriment? Was upholding the weak a strength? I couldn't know. All I knew was that I'd be thinking about it for a long, long time.

"When this is all done, and we got the blue man in our back pocket," Santorelli said. "You and I will sit down with a bottle o' bud, and we'll call your mom and dad on our little alien space-phone. We'll tell 'em that their little boy just rescued a famed Prince from that ol' part of Space that no other Andalite's gone into. And if that don't get 'em off yer back, we'll tell him that I'll do the same thing to them that I did to the Hork-fuck who shot my dad."

"What did you do?"

"I stuck him in the neck with his friend's head," Santorelli laughed. "And no, Mendy, I'm not literally gonna do that. For one thing, I don't wanna meet them. They sound like assholes."

It was an insult I'd heard plenty before. Thinking back, it was a reasonably accurate description of my father. On his bad days, at the least.

"Then when we're done blastin' 'em," he continued, "We'll take everybody to Germany for a ski trip. You can buy a condo! You can forget all this Space bullshit and live out in the snow." He then turned and jabbed a finger towards Groof, who'd been watching – mercifully - silently. "And I'll make sure this douche doesn't bug ya."

"Bug! Ha!" Groof laughed, oblivious to any context. "The Human made a pun about my physical appearance. How amusing!"

I appreciated his forethought greatly. Though I'd never been skiing, it was something that I'd been told about by Marco. It snowed a lot in the polar regions of Andal. Some Andalite populations lived there, and their bodies adapted to the cold, but I was not suited to it. I would never have dreamed of attaching long sticks to my hooves and sliding at high speeds down the slopes for no apparent reason other than for an adrenaline rush and the high-likelihood of broken bones. When Marco told me about it, I expressed my genuine interest. Maybe Santorelli had overheard that. The idea of spending the rest of my life, isolated in the snowy mountains and skiing, was of surprising appeal.

"And what about you?" I asked of him. "I can retreat without being noticed. You are a known fugitive. What will you do when we return Prince Aximili?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Guess I haven't thought that far ahead. I got a lotta sin to cleanse, I s'pose. Maybe I'll become one o' them moody religious types. Like a Buddhist, or somethin'."

"A Buddhist? Religious?" I asked. "That doesn't sound like the sort of thing you can just flick a switch and change to."

Santorelli burst out with laughter. "I'm fuckin' with you, dude! You know what I'm gonna do? I'm stayin' with you in that condo. I'm the one with the money to pay for it, after all! I'm gonna live out my days fallin' down mountains and slayin' bitches, and ain't nobody gonna stop me!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The first day was unsuccessful. The team reconvened in the late evening, tired and straight-faced. I'd watched them on the monitors for hours; seen what they'd seen, so I knew that they'd come empty-handed. They'd traveled the whole circumference of the base walls, examined every building within, and tracked numerous military personnel, but they were yet to find a clue as to the whereabouts of The One and its captives. Jake wisely employed the tireless Santorelli to maintain the limited morale, but he was straining to stay awake after nearly four hours of endless brain activity.

Marco was the last to supervise me. With that being the case, he was on first watch duty. He moaned, and he groaned, but I shared no sympathy. His eight hours of fighting off boredom, stuck in Groof's tiny vessel, was already dwarfed by the twenty I'd had to endure.

At least I was able to move. Groof was still tied to the table. How he still managed to deliver such awful jokes was a testament to the resilience of whatever his race was. Perhaps it was something to do with his ability to shut off all unwanted bodily functions at will.

The twenty hours did not go quickly. It was dreadful without Santorelli around to provide some level of motivating conversation. Jake barely spoke to me, other than to deliver cold, hard facts about what we were doing and what we'd spotted in the base.

Marco was reminiscing on his brief television career while simultaneously trying not to do just that. Neither form of conversation particularly interested me.

Tobias… never spoke. That wasn't unlike him. His decision to be present in Hork-Bajir morph for the whole time made it even more awkward.

Now, with everybody back together, I was hoping for some conversation to overcome the excruciating boredom, but it never materialized. Jake told Marco to stand guard for four hours and the rest of us to sleep. We gathered whatever we could find that we could use as blankets or pillows and laid down on the cold, hard floor. There was little space, so nobody could lay out flat. I was scrunched into a corner, looking into the vessel from the starboard side. I had a small cloth to use as a pillow and a sheet used as pipe insulation for a cover – both practically useless and hardly worth the time seeking out. I was thankful for the ship's heating system, which kept the cold from becoming unbearable. The Kelbrid night was chilly, to say the least.

Such discomfort brought me back to the earliest days in the academy. I thought it would never happen again. It made me feel sick to my single Human stomach, and I could only dread the many hours remaining that I had to endure.

My body wanted to sleep, but my mind craved something else.

For all his rowdiness and his frequent use of questionable phrases, Santorelli spoke a surprising amount of wisdom. The wisdom I received, however, was probably not the specific wisdom he had in mind.

He was right: I shouldn't have others dictate my actions, and my actions were currently being dictated by Jake and by _Enrich_. I had to act on my principles. After all, how could I justify criticizing Groof for his lack of principles when I, too, was too restrained to break from my metaphorical captives? I would take Prince Aximili back home, perhaps locate another ship on _Kyritlyp_ to do so. At the very least, I would speak to him and ask him to convince the Animorphs of his innocence.

The problem was that Jake had deemed it necessary to keep Prince Aximili unconscious for the duration of the mission. To do so, he gave Aximili regular doses of a general anesthetic, held in the medical cupboard at the rear of the main compartment. At the end of every four-hour shift, he would be given his next dose by the person coming off the watch shift. Marco was next.

That would be my first opportunity. I had to stop Prince Aximili from receiving a dose if I wanted to speak with him. Only he could persuade the others to cease their madness. He would have a way to prove that he was genuine.

My opportunities were limited, thanks to Jake's diligence, but it would not be impossible. When Marco finally gave one last heaving sigh of boredom, it alerted me to his movements. Four hours had passed, so it was time to give Prince Aximili his next dose of anesthetic. Quietly, he stepped over the sleeping bodies laid across the floor and opened up the medical cabinet. I heard the light chinks of the equipment inside as his clumsy, tired fingers searched for the next syringe in a collection of many. I could hear the removal of the cap from the bottle that would ensure Prince Aximili stayed asleep for the duration of our visit to the foreign planet.

Having filled the next syringe, Marco silently tip-toed into the rear compartment. My opportunity had arrived, but I had to be both quick and cautious.

I looked around and listened closely. Humans breathed variously when they slept, and I was reliably informed that the phenomenon was called 'snoring.' Jake's snoring was light but noticeable. Santorelli, on the other hand, was somewhat reminiscent of his bull morph in attack mode.

Groof… he hadn't made some obnoxious attempt at humor for a while, so I assumed that he was asleep, too.

Tobias would have been my biggest issue, but Jake had made a mistake. Instead of watching over me, Jake had asked Tobias to watch over Prince Aximili in the rear compartment. I was out of his line of sight.

Feeling secure, knowing that any local eyes were unobservant, I pulled off the rag that covered my body and stood up. In the dim light, I could make out the positions of Jake and Santorelli beside me. There was just enough room to step between them without making contact, and I did so steadily.

The medicine cabinet was easy enough to unclip and pull open, bar a slight squeak. A small green light illuminated the equipment from behind, so I had only silhouettes to work with, but I'd seen the others pull out items that were distinctive enough that it was all I needed. Along the right-hand side and on the second shelf from the bottom was a line of small bottles. Thankfully, they clustered in such a way that it would take a very suspicious observer to notice one had gone missing. I pulled one out, making sure that it was one of the more inconspicuously placed.

I closed the cabinet and snuck back to my sleeping area. With my peers still snoring and Marco somewhere in the rear compartment, I knew I'd gotten away with it. I got back down to the floor and covered myself with the rag. Not long after, Marco emerged through the open doorway. He dropped the used syringe into a disposal bin, and with one final sigh, squatted down beside Jake, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Psst, Jake," he whispered. "Your shift, man."

Jake let out a small groan and removed his makeshift covers before groggily getting up from the floor. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"Everything's fine," Marco replied. "Couple Kelbrids walked by earlier, but they didn't notice us."

Jake proceeded to take Marco's place as the designated watch. I clutched the bottle between my fingers, keeping it out of their sights.

<Prince Aximili?> I called out. <If you are awake, speak to me privately, and do not move. This is First Officer Menderash-Postill-Fastill.>

I heard no reply.

<Prince Aximili, can you hear me?>

Nothing. But that wouldn't stop me from trying.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

My eyes were straining from staring too long at the grainy monitors that followed them around the base. Jake, Marco, and Santorelli were rushing through at high speed, swooping over the heads of Kelbrid soldiers and into the nooks and crannies of fortified buildings. They searched high and low for signs of The One's system mainframe, but it was to no avail so far. That'd located signs that pointed to eating establishments, barracks, and administration blocks, but the Kelbrids were not openly giving away critical military systems' locations. The three were starting to earwig on the conversations of officers, distinct by their crimson scarves and golden stars. Fortunately for them, the bulk of the Kelbrid population was yet to comprehend the morphing technology fully, so the Animorphs were freely dancing around them, their detection a near-impossibility.

It had been two days with such little progress. I was growing impatient, and the continuous supervision I was under did not make me feel any better. It was Tobias' turn, and once again, he thought it best to patrol the vessel in his Hork-Bajir body, still as silent as ever.

I'd held a vast level of sympathy for the _nothlit_ and expressed my concerns with him directly on numerous occasions. He was lost, and that was obvious to everybody. Now, I felt almost threatened by his presence. The rational part of my brain knew that it was a combination of my Andalite claustrophobia and Human paranoia, as well as the knowledge that I was trying to wake Prince Aximili without their knowledge. Every time I tried to take the next step, a pair of eyes would zap straight to me and stop me in my tracks. I had to be careful because any suspicion would end any chance I may have had.

So I resigned myself to the surveillance panel. Tobias' excellent hearing would probably make further movements towards the goal impossible, so I was wholly restrained to my perceived duty.

Marco and Santorelli were both somewhere on the northern edge of the Kelbrid base, twirling around a batch of satellites that were likely in place for orbital communications. They were finding little of interest, and I began to wonder why they stayed around there for so long. Jake, on the other hand, was seemingly more productive. He'd managed to locate an office window, and I could just make out the distinct glow of computer projections. I knew that with _Kelbird_ eyes – as opposed to the grainy camera footage I was privy to – Jake would probably be able to read what was on display. He'd been there for a while, so something there must have been of interest.

I could make out none of it but could only hasten to guess that he'd seen some hint to the location of The One's mainframe.

Groof spoke, causing me to jump. His table had been lifted again so that he could see the whole cockpit. "Kelbrid security is marvelous! They are so diligent that it will be hard for them to find anything!"

"That is plain to see," I replied, hardly in the mood to praise Kelbrid military standards.

"However," Groof blithely continued, "The morphing capability is something the Kelbrids will struggle to adapt to. They are not known for biotechnology. Not like the Arn."

"Or Andalites," I retorted defensively.

"Well, of course! After all, the Andalites birthed the morphing technology! The invention was a revelation!"

"A revelation stolen," I said.

I pulled myself away from the monitor and out of Groof's eye line. I headed for the water dispenser, took a cup, and began to fill it. My right hand felt its way to the pocket of my warm, lilac jacket and the plastic casing of the bottle I'd kept hidden. My fingers wrapped around the cap, and for a moment, I considered…

But Tobias' cold stare bore down on me. I could feel it, even if I couldn't see it. When I looked over my shoulder, I caught sight of his Hork-Bajir beak pointed my way.

"Must you be in that body?" I sighed. My fingers slipped away from the bottle in my pocket.

He cocked his head, eyes narrowed. <What do you mean?>

"I much prefer your hawk body. Every time I see that body, all I think of is the war. It disturbs me. And it's ugly."

Tobias' face remained unchanged. <This is Ket Halpak's body. She is my friend.>

"It…" I stopped myself. Why was I becoming so hostile and petulant? Tobias was not a foe. "My apologies."

I drank greedily from my cup of water. I rubbed loose droplets of water from my facial fur. I considered whether it was a defensive reaction, and I hated feeling defensive around a person I thought of as a friend.

"I fear that I am alienating myself from Jake and the others," I admitted to him.

<That's obvious,> he replied blankly.

"Yes, I imagine it is," I said. "But surely you understand my concerns. I feel that we are putting ourselves in unnecessary danger."

<You don't have to be here.>

I gripped my cup tighter. "Yes, I do. I'm not foolish enough to believe that I can just get up and go. We have fallen into a trap from which we cannot escape."

<Enrich,> Tobias correctly elucidated.

"Surote is a Yeerk," I seethed. "And I cannot – will not – trust him. He and that traitor Asaccah are self-glorified thieves, and we have sacrificed our freedom to them. They own us."

He replied, <If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have found Ax.>

"Do you believe it's really him?"

Tobias' expression faltered. I saw the doubt flash momentarily. <We can't be sure.>

I swiveled to face him directly. "I saw how certain you were on that moon. You knew it was him!"

<At first. Regardless, we can't be sure,> he repeated.

"Is it worth the risk of getting ourselves killed? We know how capable these Kelbrids are. How opportunistic."

<I trust Jake,> Tobias said. <He's learned a lot these last few years. It's easy to see. He's more cautious.>

"I do not know what he was like during the Yeerk War," I said. "Maybe, in the end, he is right, but mutiny and an impulsive, headless plan will result in any Andalite Prince facing dishonorable discharge."

Tobias slowly turned his head to the rear of the ship, and I saw his chest swell with a deep intake of breath. He was thinking about it.

I continued, "There are only a few races known to create clones. The Arn were the best at it, but they are gone. The Dayang and the Irie were accomplished, but the clones were easy to distinguish on close inspection. The Kelbrids appear highly adept with computer systems, but I've seen no evidence to suggest they are capable of such flawless cloning."

<The Andalites lost contact with the Kelbrids for generations,> Tobias replied. <Who's to say they didn't start cloning technology in the meantime? I don't think we should just assume their limits.>

"You heard Groof. _Enrich_ has kept track of the Kelbrids for years, and they have shown no compulsion for cloning. If we could just examine Prince Aximili... There are always telltale signs of a clone. Scar tissue, or the lack of it. Blade and hoof damage. Prince Aximili has enough that it would be simple to identify whether or not he is an imposter."

Tobias stood, stretching up tall so that his head blades almost scraped the ceiling. He was motionless for a moment, gazing to the rear compartment, and then slowly headed over. I got up and followed cautiously along behind.

<I think any decision we make will be some huge risk,> he commented as he opened the hatch. He ducked his head under the frame and became emblazoned in the blue lighting of the compartment.

It was only a small room, especially with Prince Aximili's body taking up plenty of space as he lay sprawled out on the extended table. Tobias didn't seem too bothered about allowing much room, forcing me to squeeze into a small opening between the port bulkhead and Aximili's table.

Tobias stared long and hard at nothing in particular, as if he expected the Prince to simply jump up and grant him the answers to his questions. Alas, Prince Aximili was out cold, and he would be for some time.

"I remember," I started. "During standeasy on _Intrepid_ , Prince Aximili talked of the battles he fought alongside you. He would mention you a lot."

<There were a lot of battles,> Tobias replied blandly.

"He admired you, and he respected you. I'm sure if we allowed him to speak, he would explain that to you. He would convince you of your worth far better than I could. Perhaps, Tobias, he could bring you the meaning that you've been after."

<He already has,> Tobias said. <Why do you think I'm here now? The moment he starts talking is the moment my life loses whatever meaning it held onto.>

"Those are foolish words!" I spat. "You are a hero! Your legacy alone has more meaning than a thousand ordinary lives!"

<I'm not my legacy.>

For a moment, I started to understand how Santorelli felt. Was I this stubborn in my self-pity?

Perhaps Santorelli needed to deliver a pep talk to the whole crew.

I sighed and continued, "Prince Aximili told us of the many injuries he would receive during the battles. The morphing process reversed many, but his injuries were minor, left to scar much of the time. I know of a few."

<Such as?> Tobias asked.

"He has a keloid scar below his right shoulder. His right-hind hoof has an abnormal indentation at the base. There is a patch of scarring on the ribs of his lower abdomen."

Tobias moved his giant Hork-Bajir claw forward and went firstly for the most obvious. He took Prince Aximili's hind hoof and lifted it for better viewing. There was a peculiar indentation where the organ's expected growth had been altered, as I'd explained. I looked like somebody had pressed a thumb into it and left a caste.

Then, he gazed upon the lower ribs. On the surface, there was nothing, but he swept his hand against the flow of fur, and as it curled away from the skin, a scattering of off-color patches became evident. He didn't even bother looking for the scar on Prince Aximili's arm.

"I'm no geneticist," I said to Tobias, "But I believe this is Aximili."

<You're no geneticist,> Tobias repeated. He doubted me.

"It's him," I urged.

<You can't prove that.>

I'd had enough. Tobias was not going to cave, and it was a fruitless exercise trying to get him to admit that I was correct. I understood why he wouldn't, but it frustrated me to no end.

I left him in the compartment. He remained there for whatever reason. As I stormed back into the cockpit and rightly ignored Groof's inane questioning about what we were doing, I placed a hand in my pocket. I felt the smooth polymer of the bottle brush against my fingertips.

Where was Groof? He was at the pilot's station, his constraints holding him toward the surveillance desk. He could not see me. He could only hear.

Tobias was still in the other compartment, perhaps rationalizing his decision. He was inattentive.

There was nobody watching, and the water dispenser was out of everybody's view. I walked casually to it, retrieved the bottle from my pocket, unscrewed the cap…

It was perhaps half-full. I emptied what remained into the drip tray and hurriedly refilled it with the flowing drinking water.

I'd just managed to reapply the cap and squeeze the bottle back into my pocket as Tobias re-entered the cockpit. He stared at me emptily as I raised a plastic cup, the sides dripping with water. I drank from it and returned to the surveillance screens.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The surveys stopped quite abruptly. Jake, Marco, and Tobias returned from another sweep, and Jake put an end to it. The ship was busy with voiceless soldiers who were too exhausted to converse but too restless to sleep. Jake stood hunched over the cockpit, looking out over the local Kelbrid landscape. Thinking.

I could only assume that we'd done all we could to investigate the site, but nobody mentioned any clues about The One's whereabouts. I was beginning to think that they were second-guessing the decision to come, but somehow, I doubted it. Something else was going on, and I was sure that we'd soon find out.

I watched as Jake rubbed firm fingers over his forehead, eyes glued shut. Something weighed heavily on his mind.

The next action came as a shock. Every head turned as Jake thrust an arm sideways and knocked a flask into the bulkhead. It was stunning to see the rage bubble up so instantaneously, but it subsided as quickly as it has arisen.

I expected somebody to question. Santorelli, especially, would be the sort of Human to wonder aloud why Jake was so aggrieved. But nobody said a word. Jake looked blankly at the floor for a moment, pursed his lips, and then retook his hunched position with a sigh.

It was a bizarre thing to witness.

That was the only thing of note to happen for a while. As Marco was busy thinking over the issues stuck in his head, he finally found the peace of mind to sleep, and Santorelli found something to keep his brain occupied. Groof, still tied to the table, kept unusually quiet in his lonely corner.

I kept my eyes on the medical cabinet. In there, I could barely spot the curved edge of the bottle I'd gotten to know so well recently. It was yet to be disturbed, but the prior bottle was almost empty. Soon, I would have to make my move, assuming Jake didn't have some new plan in mind. My efforts could have all been for nothing if that was indeed the case.

I just had to wait and see. In the meantime, I twiddled my thumbs and played with the lip of my empty drinks container. That was until Santorelli wheeled something in from the aft compartment.

"Hey, Mendy," he called. "You givin' up on this hunk o' junk?"

He pushed the bulky, cylindrical communications pod onto its base. Some wires swung out from the back like a tuft of hair. It had gathered a layer of dust since I'd abandoned it a few days ago.

I'd abandoned it under my Prince's orders. Santorelli, for whatever reason, wanted to bring it back out.

"Yes," I replied bluntly.

"So yer not gonna help me?" he said with a chuckle. "I won't get very far, blue-man."

"What do you intend to do?" I asked, walking over to stand beside him. I didn't want our conversation to draw more attention than it already had. That didn't stop Tobias from watching us from directly overhead.

"Maybe we can find more messages," Santorelli said optimistically. "Find out what our hostage has been sayin', huh?"

I hated that he called Prince Aximili a hostage, but I was long past bothering to raise such minor objections. "There were three messages," I replied. "SOS messages to the Andalite fleet. There's nothing else in it."

"Sure about that? You never finished workin' on it, right?"

"No… But I could only find three messages in the history data. What else can you expect to find?"

He looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "Won't find anythin' you don't expect if you don't look in the first place."

"You can look," I said. "But I will not. It is a fruitless endeavor."

That was not my reason for helping, but I wouldn't give my real motivation. I walked away from Santorelli as he fumbled unintelligibly with the technology.

More time passed. It was clear that Jake had started to formulate plans, especially when he took a notepad into the aft compartment. After a while, he called Santorelli in, who'd made no sufficient progress with the communications device. Santorelli was quickly becoming Jake's second-in-command, which came as no great surprise.

When they re-emerged, they delivered the plan.

"Listen up," Jake announced authoritatively. "We've got a plan to get in."

"Finally," Marco sighed. "I'd rather die from laser fire than boredom at this point."

"Ain't gonna die today, boys!" Santorelli responded. "We'll be in and out before these slimeballs know what's hit 'em."

Jake raised a hand to re-establish the atmosphere. "Okay, we've done a good job so far. We've done a lot, and I know we're all tired, but hopefully, we can finish within the day. We've scouted every inch of the place, and we know the schedules. Sarge?"

Santorelli nodded and reached back into the aft compartment, pulling out an interactive, floating screen. As he turned it to face the room, a schematic of the base met us, outlined in bright green on a dark, almost black background. A blue circle was denoted as our ship, down at the south-western corner. Dotted around within the base walls were rectangles and circles, no doubt representing individual buildings, of which there were about a hundred.

"Our task," Jake started. "Is to get into this building here."

He pointed at one of the rectangular blocks. It was central, slightly north-west, and surrounded by a dense pack of other buildings.

He continued, "This is where we believe The One's system mainframe lies. We get in, and we scout for signs of the room where they keep the hostages. Once there, we establish exit points, take note of the security, and locate Ax. We will then leave with the information we require unless there is a clear way to retrieve Ax without alerting the Kelbrids. We can't guarantee that we will grab him this time around, but we will at least scour the place to find out how best to do it.

"Myself, Marco, and Sarge will be the infiltration team. Mendy, Tobias, you'll stay on the ship and be ready to get it moving, should we need an emergency escape. Are we clear so far?"

Everybody said yes.

"Okay. What we know," Jake continued, taking a momentary glance at the screen. Santorelli was at hand to indicate locations appropriately. "The base is approximately three miles in diameter, from wall to wall. There is no way for us to walk into any of the four main entries without identification, and the Kelbrids are pretty strict when it comes to ID. We can't get in on foot, and as far as we know, there's no justification for going underground. We will have to infiltrate from above in native morph. We've been in _Kelbird_ morph for a few days and have not been seen as even slightly suspicious, so that's our best way in.

"The building we hope to get into is a three-story structure, pretty bland for a Kelbrid design. Red in color, transparent windows, looks like a typical office building. There are ventilation shafts, and windows are open sporadically. Kelbrid personnel are not armed while in the building. To be honest, it seems pretty uninteresting, but from the documents we've seen, all mentions of The One's system mainframe link back to this building. It's called _Irkaad Umi_. That translates to Data laboratories. Considering the apparent correlation to the name of this place and mentions of The One, we think it's our best chance of finding this thing.

"The infiltration team will be in a suitable morph to penetrate the building inconspicuously. Once inside, we will head to the underground levels, where we have reason to believe the main technology is maintained. The scientists – wearing green scarves – tend to hang around the entrances to the underground, so we'll be following them. Sarge, details on the morph?"

Santorelli stepped away from his screen duty and pulled a small jar from a jacket pocket. He held it up, and inside was a tiny creature, no more than a few inches in length. It looked similar to an Earth stick insect, though beautifully patterned with a montage of bright colors. It had six legs like an insect, but it had a head like a tiny, primitive mammal, complete with a jaw, ears, and eyes.

Santorelli spoke about it. "These little things are everywhere. All over the walls, all over the floors, and they're pretty damn easy to spot! Thing is, the Kelbrids don't mind 'em at all. In fact, they seem to like the colorful little bastards. Ain't seen a single Kelbrid swat at 'em. Seem to have pretty good senses and will get just about anywhere without the Kelbrids makin' a fuss. Boss?"

"After this briefing," Jake said. "We each acquire this morph. Marco, Sarge, and I will morph the creature here, on the ship, and Tobias, you will be in _Kelbird_ morph to drop us into the base before returning to the ship. You'll drop us on the roof of the Data Labs, and from there, we will infiltrate through the nearest open window. Sarge is right when he says that the Kelbrids like these bugs and they will deliberately avoid damaging us.

"Once inside, we will descend to the underground floors and take a look around. We will have cameras attached to us, so the ship's team will keep eyes on our situation. I want notes taken, detailed.

"We think that we'll find the mainframe. The thing is, we don't know what it looks like or where – if it is there – we'll find the hostages. If they are being kept alive – which we're pretty sure they are – they will not be too hard to reach. The body needs air, water, and food, and constant replenishment requires quick access. That is not to say that we can rescue Ax here and now. In fact, I doubt that we will be able to. This is an investigation, and we don't want to put ourselves at more risk than we necessarily have to."

I mumbled a few words under my breath at that last sentence. Jake didn't notice.

"We'll be relying on the ship team to take those notes because I don't want to be relying purely on memory, especially with the adrenalin running. Mendy, Tobias, make sure you take everything down: Exits, technology, Kelbrid numbers. Everything pertinent. The cameras are good enough that you should be able to pick things out, even in low light.

"Tobias, you will fly over after three hours have passed, and that's our cue to leave unless we’ve left earlier. Once we have exited the building, you will lift us back to the ship. Back here, we'll look into how we get Ax – and ourselves – out in one piece. The security is fierce, and somehow I don't think we'd make it out alive if we went all-guns-blazing. It shouldn't come to that.

"If it does… We will make our way to the southern entrance of the base. We all know the best routes where we are less likely to be seen. Mendy, Tobias, you will move the ship as close to the southern entrance as possible, should that situation arise. Keep the cloak up, and don't hang around longer than you need to. The base entrances are busy.

"There's the chance that something will go wrong in there," he continued, his voice firm. "If so, one of us will start to demorph in camera-view. That's your cue to get into the quick-escape position. Tobias, you will fly over and try to pull us up if you see us."

Jake continued to inform us of the various procedures should untoward circumstances arise. He was cautious, and rightfully so. He didn't think, for one minute, that we would rescue Prince Aximili at this stage of the mission, hardly even entertaining the idea. This was a scouting mission, and he was wise to keep it as such.

My instructions were plain and simple: I was to keep time for the others and take notes on what their cameras picked up. That was about the limit of my involvement, since they lent Tobias more trust to move the ship under Groof's guidance.

Jake finished up with a few questions and then concluded. "We start tomorrow at midnight. Until then, we hunker down and maintain tight security. Memorize your roles, and ask Sarge or me any questions when they come up. These aren't Yeerks we're going up against. These Kelbrids are tight, well-organized, and dangerous. This mission is what we've been working toward, so we put it all in. Keep hydrated, keep fed, and get your sleep. A hundred-percent tomorrow. From all of you."

He looked straight at me. I stared back and nodded.

"Marco," Jake addressed as Santorelli began to take the Kelbrid insect from its jar for all to acquire. "Ax needs a top-up."

"Right," Marco replied. He opened up the medical cabinet and took out the next bottle in line.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jake wanted us all to get plenty of sleep before the mission took place, but that didn't mean that he'd let up on security. The sentry duties remained intact, and there was never a moment when watchful eyes wouldn't be surveying both the interior and exterior of the ship. With the lights out, I could see the silhouette of Jake's scruffy, unkempt hair against the backdrop of a Kelbrid night as he positioned himself by the wide cockpit visor. Santorelli's snoring kept me firmly awake, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Prince Aximili was still being kept firmly unconscious in the aft compartment, but nobody had seemed to notice the tampered bottle. My Prince had been injected with little more than water over the past nine hours or so. The anesthetic would surely soon wear off.

<Prince Aximili,> I called out privately. <If you can hear me, do not move. Do not make a sound.>

I pretended to sleep, only daring to open my eyes when I heard Jake fidgeting with items at the cockpit. He'd been in the sentry position for a little over an hour, and he was trying to fight off the boredom. Presently, he was watching the ship's exterior surveillance through the monitors. The Kelbrid land around the ship was deserted, still as a statue.

<Prince Aximili. This is First Officer Menderash-Postill-Fastill.>

<Me-…>

I had to stop myself from jolting. My eyelids widened, but I restrained myself from any other movement that may have alerted Jake. That was Prince Aximili's faint, barely-conscious voice.

<Prince Aximili!> I called firmly. <Do not move! Keep absolutely still and speak only to me!>

There came no response. He must have been flickering in and out of alertness.

<Prince Aximili! If you can hear me… This is First Officer Menderash-Postill-Fastill. Do not move, and speak only to me,> I repeated.

<Menderash?>

His voice was weak, but it seemed that he'd finally emerged from his deep sleep. At least enough to formulate words. <Prince Aximili, you must not move, and you must only speak to me, First Officer Menderash-Postill-Fastill!>

<What is… where am I?>

I replied, <You are restrained under Jake Berenson's orders. If you move, they will know that I have tampered with the anesthetic they have been using on you.>

<Anesthetic?> He sounded bewildered, almost frightened. I dreaded to think that he wasn't listening to my instructions.

<Tobias is with you right now,> I informed. <If he sees you moving; if he even for one second believes that you are awake, then they will put you back to sleep. Do you understand me?>

<I am keeping still,> he said. <I am keeping still.>

<That's good, my Prince,> I replied. My eyes darted to Jake, whose gaze remained transfixed on the surveillance screens. If Tobias had been alerted, Jake would have been, also. <Remain still. I have a plan to get you out of here.>

Prince Aximili was more interested in how he got there in the first place. <Jake put me here? Tobias is watching? What is going on, Menderash? Why am I strapped to this table? I can't move my tail!>

<Don't try to!> I warned. <You must stay still if I am to free you. The Humans will be leaving tomorrow, and I will have time to remove your restraints. Until then, you must give the appearance of complete unconsciousness.>

<This room is small…> he commented. <I don't like this. It will be very difficult.>

<You must,> I insisted.

<Answer me, First Officer!> he demanded, the force coming back to his voice. <Why am I strapped to this table?!>

<They don't believe that you're who you claim to be.>

He fell silent for a moment. <What?!>

<They believe you to be a clone. Something created by The One to fool our people.>

<That's absurd,> he insisted. <The One doesn't have such technology.>

<I've tried to reason with them,> I explained. <But they're determined to find the "real" you.>

Prince Aximili went quiet again to contemplate. <That will take them a long time. Do they expect to keep me for that long? Unless… First Officer Menderash, what are they doing now?>

<We're on _Kyritlyp_.>

<What?! You need to tell them to stay away from the Kelbrids! They will be searching all over for me!>

<I've tried,> I grumbled. <They will not listen to reason. We're positioned beside one of the major Kelbrid military bases, cloaked. We've been here for a few days scouting the base. Jake believes that he has found The One's system mainframe, and he plans to infiltrate tomorrow.>

<They will die,> Aximili said bluntly. <The Kelbrids are wise to trickery. If Jake plans to enter a military base, then he will take you all into death, or at the very least, imprisonment. You have to convince him to stop.>

<I've done all that I can to convince them, but it hasn't worked. I will be left on the ship tomorrow with Tobias. However, he will leave briefly to transport the others into the base. That will be my only opportunity to remove your restraints.>

<What is your plan after that?> he asked.

<We will assume control of the vessel and head to Andal. I see no other option. Once you are back on Andal, I will consider my duty fulfilled. I am of no use in this pathetic Human body.>

<The Human body, I've found, is capable of much more than it appears to be.>

<What does it matter? I am a disgrace. My family will not want to hear from me, and nor will the military after my actions. My best hope is to return to Earth with the Humans, though I doubt they will be so agreeable,> I said.

<I am sure you can find a role somewhere. Rescuing me will go some way to redeeming your prior misdeeds. Still… I can't pretend to have forgiven you. You left me to die on _Intrepid_. You closed the door… I could have made it.>

I knew what he was saying was right, and I couldn't bring myself to defend the indefensible. <At the time, it seemed like the right choice. Looking back, I was wrong. That is why I am a disgrace. I feel tremendous guilt for what I did, and I don't expect your forgiveness, Prince Aximili.>

<Not only that,> he said, anger present in his tone. <Your undermining of my leadership throughout the voyage was inexcusable. At every turn, you would second-guess and criticize. Don't think that I didn't hear the mutterings of the crew. You told them that I was a lost child! You told them that I was cowering in the War Commander's shadow.>

He was. But I wasn't about to make that statement, especially in our current predicament. <I always did what I thought was best for _Intrepid_. She was my ship and had been for years. I knew her, inside and out. To see her set out when she was in such a terrible condition… Nobody in the crew was happy to go, knowing that our machinery was in dire need of repairs.>

< _Intrepid_ 's condition was not the cause of her demise,> Prince Aximili pointed out. <I don't wish to argue this anymore. We need to figure out what to do here. You say that Tobias is watching me?>

<Yes, my Pri->

<I am not your Prince.>

That hit me hard. Harder than I expected. It was nothing less than a dishonorable dismissal. I had to bite my Human lips to stop barking out all the stress that had begun to overflow. Jake had moved away from the surveillance desk and was looking back into the ship. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

<Yes. Tobias is in the aft compartment, watching you. His eyes and ears will pick up even your smallest movements. Jake is taking no chances… with me.>

<And so he shouldn't,> Ax chided. <Now, tell me, how do you expect to fight off that… oh, I've forgotten his name. The fugitive. The criminal. If you are to take his ship, you should expect him to fight back.>

I searched my memory, and then I recalled to whom he was referring. Groof's Andalite disguise, of course. <The fugitive was a disguise. It was a lie to trick you.>

<They lied to me? Why?>

<Jake has-… To rescue you, he allied the Animorphs with an isolated ship called _Enrich_. It is a band of thieves and manipulators, headed by a Yeerk and an Andalite traitor. They wish to remain a secret to anybody outside of their bulkhead, and so the _Enrich_ member of this ship's crew morphed Andalite so that you would not see his true form.>

<What is his true form?>

<Grotesque.>

<I mean species…> he grumbled.

<I can hardly be expected to pronounce it correctly. It is of some bizarre, alien tongue. His name is Groof, and that's how he's referred to.>

<And how do you expect to overpower this Groof creature?>

<There is no need,> I explained. <He, like you, has been restrained. The Animorphs mutinied when Groof refused to head for _Kyritlyp_.>

Ax paused again. I could only imagine the confusion encircling him. <Am I in some cruel nightmare? You're talking nonsense, Menderash! What grass have you been absorbing?!>

<I'm speaking the truth. It's just a long, complicated story.>

<Very complicated,> he commented irritably.

<To the Animorphs' credit,> I said. <They have made many sacrifices to save you. They have sacrificed their homes, their livelihoods, and their safety just to find you.>

Aximili sighed, and his frustration seemed to lessen. <My Human friends may sometimes be naïve, but their hearts are righteous. I am not surprised to hear this.>

<They work for _Enrich_ , now. They're slaves to the whims of its leaders, all for the hope of rescuing you.>

<You mentioned a Yeerk and an Andalite.>

< _Enrich_ was started by a traitorous scientist named Asaccah-Sirivit-Quikerik and his twisted creation – a Yeerk named Surote, hosted by a mechanical suit of Asaccah's making. They steal technology from advanced races, including our own. They have taken a new Escafil Device that is being created by our scientists.>

<We should report them if what you say is true,> Aximili said matter-of-factly. <When we get back to Andal, I shall take the matter to the War Commander. How long will it take for this ship to travel?>

I replied, <The ship is capable of instantaneous travel through space-time. Once we are out of the Kelbrid atmosphere, we can move instantly to the borders of our own.>

Then I stopped. It was perfect…

I continued, <Aximili, I know what we must do. When I have removed you from your restraints, we will take control of the ship. Groof is pliable enough that he will not resist us in getting to the outskirts of Andal. We'll leave the atmosphere, take you home, and then I shall return to pick up the Animorphs. It will take no more than half-an-hour if all goes well. I shall return the ship and inform Tobias of what I've done. He will tell the others, and they will return to the ship before they have the opportunity to get themselves killed. The only flaw is…>

<What they will do with you, once they've found out that you've betrayed them.>


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Aximili was able to remain still enough, according to the lack of action from the Animorphs. The hours passed as if nothing had happened, and soon enough, the team was preparing for the infiltration into the Kelbrid base. Everybody was awake and fed, but there was an awkward tension hanging in the atmosphere.

Jake was the busiest, still reiterating orders and plans, going from one person to the other to ensure everybody knew their role. He was most brief with me.

"You stay on the ship for the duration," he said. "Keep your eyes on the surveillance, especially while Tobias is flying us into the base."

That was all he said to me. My role was minimal, to say the least, but that didn't matter to me.

He spoke loud and clear when it was time to begin. After informing Marco and Santorelli to morph, he went aft to talk to Tobias, who was still keeping watch over Aximili.

"Time to go bug," Marco said with a readying huff.

"Ladies first," Santorelli replied.

Morphing is never easy to witness, even after so many occasions. Nothing can prepare you for the horror, especially when the creature morphed is so anatomically dissimilar. Marco began to change first, his body adjusting to form three separate segments, much like that of an ant. Only, the rest of his body was still entirely Human. Seeing his body segment like that was utterly, disgustingly dreadful. Even Santorelli decided it best to look the other way as his changes began. His first change was in the legs, his limbs transforming into hardened, luminous spears that arched up and then back down. Two sprouted from his chest with an awful _splurt_!

Their heads both began to change at roughly the same time. Their eyes remained similar in structure but grew in size relative to their simultaneously shrinking heads. I could hear the dissolving of bones and the rearranging of bodily tissues. Soon, they were both shrinking at an alarming pace and falling onto their front. Santorelli landed on purpose-built legs, while Marco's had barely developed, causing him to hit the floor with a thud.

<Ow!> he complained in thought speak. <You know, you'd think, at some point, we'd get used to this.>

<Dream on, Monkey Man.>

Soon, they were fully-morphed. They were two small alien insects sitting on the hard flooring, spinning their antennae wildly, their bright colors shimmering in the light of the ship's interior. They didn't say much but, instead, butted heads. They looked to be fighting.

<Marco, Santorelli,> I called down. <Control your morphs.>

<Wha… Oh. Oh, right,> Marco said, sounding a little embarrassed. One of the insects appeared to retreat from the other.

The other, however, kept coming, slamming into Marco's side.

<Hey!> Marco barked. <Take control, Sarge! Leave me alone!>

<I'm in control,> Santorelli replied. <Just didn't want you to get away without knowing who's boss bug.>

<Oh. Ha-ha. Very funny… Quit it.>

Sarge spoke through to Jake. <Hey, boss! You done in there? Monkey Man and I are gettin' tired o' waitin'!>

<We're almost done!> Jake called back.

Moments later, they emerged. Tobias had morphed the _Kelbird_ , and in one of its claws dangled Jake, in the body of the same insect the others had morphed. The small, blue bird landed beside the other two insects.

<All aboard the bird bus,> Tobias said with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. <Calling at Hell, and… well, that's it.>

<Oh goody,> said Marco. <That's always my favorite holiday destination. Been there more times than I can remember. Really lives up to the advertisements.>

Jake spoke to us all. <Okay, we all know the plan. We need to be quick, but more importantly, we need to be cautious. Mendy, keep watch on surveillance. Any issues, morph something that can fly and warn Tobias. He'll take it from there.>

<I understand. Good luck over there.>

<Thanks,> he replied blandly. <Tobias, let's go.>

<Hatch, please,> Tobias requested.

I went over to the cockpit, located the hatch switch, and opened it up. The hole appeared in the center of the bridge.

<Cameras,> Jake instructed.

I retrieved the case in which the small cameras were kept and went through the tedious task of attaching them to each of the three bugs. Marco and Santorelli were compliant, but Jake was a little more fidgety.

“Hold still…” I told him.

He replied, <This bug mind really doesn't like this… Just be forceful.>

I did so, clutching a leg firmly and attached the tiny camera. With that done, I allowed the bugs to regain their grip on Tobias and retreated to the surveillance screens. After some fiddling with the controls, three separate screens showed views of Tobias' underside. “Cameras are functioning,” I told them.

<Right, time to go,> Jake said.

And with that, the small blue bird dropped out of the hatch and into the Kelbrid world. On the screens, I could see the abandoned site zooming by as Tobias took them away and towards the base. I kept watching until I saw them approaching the base. They were far enough away.

<Aximili,> I called in thought-speak. <It's time. The Animorphs have left.>

<Okay, Menderash.>

I jogged back to the aft compartment. Groof was immediately alerted, speaking, "You're not allowed back there! Hey, my _nothlit_ friend, Jake won't like this!"

I ignored him. Why pay attention to a criminal?

Aximili fidgeted on the uncomfortable table, stretching his muscles, having held dutifully still for so long. He would not be moving easily.

I knew that the ties around his limbs and torso would be tight. When I tugged at them in an attempt to undo the knots, they would not come loose, and I couldn't dig my fat Human digits into them. "Aximili, I can't undo the knots by hand. I need to use a tool."

<There is a knife down there,> he said, indicating with both stalk eyes to the far corner of the compartment. There sat Santorelli's daysack, distinct for its desert camo pattern. Sticking out of a side pocket was the unmistakable handle of a knife. I grabbed the item and removed the sheaf, unveiling the shimmering metal, the sharp edge of which was suitably jagged. I ran back around the table to where Aximili's tail blade was tied to the leg, down by the floor.

"What are you doing in there?!" Groof shouted from beside the cockpit.

"It's nothing to concern yourself with," I said back. "Now keep quiet! Aximili, do not be shocked by the creature in the cockpit. Groof is tied down, much like you are now."

<Very well,> he replied.

After a good few slices against the rope, Aximili's tail finally came free. Without hesitation, he began to slice at the rest of his restraints. His movements were sluggish and awkward, and he cut himself in a couple of places in the process.

"Be careful," I suggested as I helped him to his hooves. He moved both with urgency and caution, well aware that his muscles had not seen action for some time. He was wobbly, and I had to hold onto him for a few seconds before I could be sure that he could hold his own weight. Then I guided him out of the aft compartment. 

Groof looked shocked and expressed as such. "Jake won't be pleased. You should put him back."

We both ignored him. Aximili went to inspect the cockpit and eyed up the controls. <We should get moving quickly,> he said.

"We will," I replied. "I just need to secure the aft compartment first."

I rushed back in, first storing away the sliced bits of rope in an overhead storage space. Looking around, I saw nothing else loose and was satisfied that the ship was indeed free of unrestrained debris. The next step was to replace Santorelli's knife. The last thing we wanted was for a knife to be loose on a moving ship.

I squatted down beside Santorelli's daysack and placed the sheaf back on the blade. Then, I forced it back into the pocket. It didn't go back in, even as I shuffled it. My spare hand reached into the pocket to make room for the item, and I froze when I felt a familiar shape brush my fingertips.

The bottle that I pulled out of the pocket was white and cylindrical. The label indicated that it was a bottle of anesthetic – the same type we'd been using to keep Aximili asleep for so long.

Upon further searching in the pocket, I found a batch of unopened syringe cases and a few discarded ones.

Surely, it could not be true. I felt cold. Weak.

I hurriedly opened up the bottle, smelled the fluid contained within. Chemical. The bottle was used but far from empty.

I slowly put it all away and then buried the bridge of my nose in my fingers.

What could I do?

It must have been a coincidence. They can't have known.

Of course, they could have known. And they did. What a fool I had been even to try.

I felt numb. Defeated. They had tricked me.

<We must be going, Menderash! Why are you delaying?!>

I had no choice. I had to face the consequences of my actions. Slowly, I got up and moved to the ship's main compartment where Aximili was waiting. He watched me with his main eyes expectantly.

<We need to move before they return!>

"Yes, Aximili," I said.

My shaking legs brought me to the cockpit, where he stood watching over me. I could feel his blade swishing the air. Then, it curled forward and hung around my neck.

<You thought you could get away with him, didn't you?>

My voice was shaky. "I had to. It was my duty. I had to save my Prince, no matter what."

The surveillance screens came to my attention. Through the fuzzy images, I could see that the others were returning to the ship. They would be back in seconds.

<Come away from the console. Sit down over there.>

I obeyed the order, moving to sit where he had pointed, by the port bulkhead where I was far away from any of the ship's controls.

The others returned and immediately began to demorph: one bird and two insects. The third insect was nowhere to be seen.

Marco was the first to speak, and his words cut deep. <Thought you could just leave us here? Sounds familiar, doesn't it?>

"I intended to return for you," I replied truthfully.

Aximili, too, was changing shape. As I watched, brown feathers began to sprout from blue fur. Tobias.

<He did everything that he said he would,> he said. <Waited for us to leave, then freed Ax. He was going to take him to Andal.>

"Where is the real Aximili?" I asked bitterly.

Marco replied, <We stored him in the machinery space, somewhere we didn't think you'd look.>

They finished demorphing, and they stood around me like statues, their eyes hot with anger. Jake stepped forward, demanding the attention of the room.

"So. What do we do about you?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Santorelli was the first to lose his restraint. He barged past Jake, his face bundled up in a fury, his teeth bared. He grabbed me roughly by the scruff of the neck and held me tightly, his fist to my throat.

"I oughta knock your block off, you little piece o' rat shit!" he bellowed. 

I said nothing in return. I couldn't even bring myself to look into his eyes. The description was undeniably accurate.

He continued, "So what is it, boss? Maybe we should leave him for the slimeball Kelbrids to deal with, huh? Yeah? You'd like that, wouldn't you, shitbag?!"

"Let him go, Sarge," Jake said, his voice calm and reasoned.

Santorelli did so, reluctantly. "If it were up to me, boss, I'd set this guy loose on his own. Make sure there ain't nobody around for him to stab in the back. I could fuck him up right here if that's a better idea."

"We're not doing either of those things," Jake replied.

"So what do we do?" Marco asked. He looked just as likely to explode as Santorelli had.

My life was in Jake's hands. He looked me up and down, and I could see his jaw shifting as he ground his teeth in consideration. He didn't need me to say anything. He already knew everything I could use to justify my actions. I'd told him.

"I get it, Mendy," he started. "You want to get Ax back just as much as we do. But we're in this together. I thought I made that point clear — many times. I think I've been fair and that I've given you the benefit of the doubt. You don't like my leadership, sure. You don't like the decisions I've made to get us to this point, but you know what? We're here. No matter if it really is Ax back in the engine space, or whether he's in that lab a couple of miles from here, we're here, and this is as close as we've gotten. If you don't want to help make that final, necessary step to make sure that we've got what we went through all this for, then fine. Just don't get in our way. We've worked too hard to have the rug pulled out from under us by a _nothlit_ with honor issues. You made that choice to become _nothlit_ to help me, and I think you're a fool not to go through with what you sacrificed your own life for."

Again, I had nothing to say. I bowed my head in shame.

"Look at me."

For my own dignity, I could not refuse. I looked back into Jake's eyes. I needed to approach this with whatever honor I had left.

"You think it's us you have to worry about?" he asked incredulously. "I'm not going to kill you or set you loose on a foreign planet with no way home. Mendy, I know you're not a bad guy. You're just an idiot. A fucking idiot. Maybe now you've realized that. If you want somebody to worry about, he's over there."

He directed his gaze to the cockpit, where Groof looked back at us. "Hello!" he chimed.

Jake continued, "They will kill you. Groof has seen what you've done, and Surote will not take kindly to somebody who can't be trusted. Now, you have two options. One: You sit back, allow us to do this mission. We forget that this ever happened, and you can go wherever the hell you like. After all, once we've saved Ax, our stint with Surote is over. Or two: You try any of that shit again. We will stop you, and we will let Surote deal with you in whatever way he pleases."

The reactions of the others were that of frustration. I could tell that they wanted blood for my betrayal.

But they trusted Jake. That much was clear. They believed in his ability to make the right decisions, something that he'd been learning to do for years. Despite all that he thought of himself and all the mistakes he had made, he was most definitely a leader.

Leaders are never infallible.

The ultimatum he had given me was exactly the right card to play. I was stuck, and I could either choose death or a chance to be proven wrong and ultimately do what I'd set out to do. Trapped in a corner, I had no choice even though I'd betrayed them. Even though I'd betrayed my Prince. They were showing me mercy that I did not deserve.

"You will continue with the mission?" I asked of him.

"Just as we planned it," he explained. "Only this time, Tobias will not be leaving. The rest of us will take ourselves into the base as _Kelbirds_ and morph straight to insect. Happy with that, Tobias?"

<Yeah, Jake,> he replied from his perch beside the cockpit.

Jake sighed abruptly, almost as a relief after having solved one of his many problems. "Okay, let's get Ax back out of the engine space and onto the table. We start the mission in three hours, so be prepared." He looked back at me as the others trudged away. "Bored, Mendy?"

"Bored?" I asked, a little taken aback.

"Get back to work on that communications device. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Jake."

He left me to it. I dragged the horrible cylindrical object into a corner where I wouldn't be in anybody's way, inwardly chastising myself for the foolish incompetent I had become.

Andalites prided themselves on their intellect and cunning. It was arrogance, yes, but it was so ingrained that being dominated and outsmarted by supposed lesser beings felt like the ultimate embarrassment.

Aximili had told me many times onboard _Intrepid_ that the Andalite sense of pride was overinflated, and I recalled that I would often scoff at such comments. Now, though, I was beginning to see the error in my way of thinking. Humans were just as cunning and insightful as Andalite had ever been. They truly were a fantastic race. If they were ever to stop bickering and fighting amongst themselves, they would probably become a force to be reckoned with in the known galaxies.

I was an idiot to think that I could trick them so easily.

The Humans worked together to retrieve Ax. They'd stuffed him somewhere at the very back of the ship. He came out covered with a light layer of dirt that Marco was tasked to remove. When I stood in the doorway to the compartment, I received a scathing look — both from Marco and Santorelli. Tobias looked at me, too, but his hawk body had no real way to portray the emotions he felt.

Jake was the only one that seemed to let it drop, at least to some degree. He decided to ignore me altogether.

Aximili was still unconscious, and his anesthetic was quickly topped-up from a bottle that had not been tampered with. He would be out for the duration of the mission.

I sat down with the communications device, despite Ax's orders. It felt wrong, at first, but then I remembered that Aximili had dismissed me from his services.

And then I remembered further that I probably hadn't spoken to Ax at all. It was Tobias playing a role. He must have questioned Aximili privately about what happened on _Intrepid_ before we took him as a prisoner.

Either way, being dismissed would be a good excuse to disobey his orders, whether it was the real Aximili or not. Until proven otherwise, I would operate under the assumption that I was no longer beholden to my Prince.

I kept to myself and the communications pod. I'd explored it a little before but never got further than a brief scan of saved files held within: The three messages that Aximili had sent to Andal.

Soon enough, the time came once again for the mission to begin. This time, it was a genuine start, rather than a trap set up for me. Jake, Marco, and Santorelli morphed the _Kelbird_ and tested their single, half-circle wing.

<Tobias,> Jake said, looking up at the intimidating Hork-Bajir who'd just emerged from the aft compartment. <Keep an eye on the surveillance. Be ready to bring the ship if we get into any trouble.>

<Got it,> he replied.

<Mendy? Just keep working on that comms pod.>

"Yes, Jake."

The three alien birds flew out of the hatch, leaving me alone with Tobias yet again.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Tobias leaned up against the cockpit control panels to watch the surveillance screens, clutching and fiddling at the tip of his tail while he stared. The cameras watched the Kelbrid landscape rush by and then came to land on top of an indistinct building. All that we could see was a dull, gritty surface and the sky up above, delivered through the camera with a blue glow. Occasionally, somebody else would flutter into camera view. At one point, another bird joined them, quickly told apart by the lack of the minute camera attached to the leg.

The ordinary bird flew away hastily when they began to morph. The Animorphs had the decency to all turn away from each other so that we didn't have to watch the gruesome change, but the way that the cameras gradually moved lower to the ground made it evident that they were making the change. That, and the appearance of extra legs in front of them. Tobias lamented that the other legs were in the way, but it didn't make a significant difference.

. Soon after they completed the morph, the three Animorphs wandered over to the edge of the building. On the lip of the roof sat four more of them, basking in the Kelbrid Sun. Jake was right to choose such a morph, and not for that reason alone. They moved down the wall vertically, using their tiny, hairy insect limbs to grip onto the microscopic cracks and crevices. It was dizzying to watch the ground rush up at us, even with the fuzzy view of the camera.

Eventually, they found an open window. Circular, of course: a shape that the Kelbrids were very fond of. They'd scouted it out as birds and now made their way in as insects. The interior of the building was as expected.

Tobias looked over his shoulder, twisting his snake-like neck. It felt like he disapproved of me simply watching, even though I was doing it from a distance. I took his harsh gaze as a hint to continue working on the communications pod, and so I looked back down at it, to the small primitive screen that told me which part of the software I was navigating.

I'd relocated the three messages that Aximili had sent to Andal and the military by retracing the frequency we often used. The messages played back through the machine, and nothing about them was out of the ordinary. We'd seen them already. Nothing else was traced with that frequency, so I'd have to search for evidence of other frequencies used.

Groof, still strapped to his table, decided to explain to Tobias what a display of Kelbrid art meant. Tobias rightfully shrugged it off as unimportant. The infiltrators had emerged into a hallway of sorts, lined with large pieces of artwork that seemed both unintelligible and out-of-place. Kelbrid art struck me as unusually abstract and beautiful in a way that I couldn't fathom. The Animorphs appeared to take some time to admire it themselves. Either that or they were staying still to allow three Kelbrid scientists to pass. They wore scarves around their neck, and despite the excess blue radiating through the cameras' playback, they appeared to be green.

<You didn't tell them anything about what they might find,> Tobias said to Groof in open thought-speak. <Why not?>

"I don't know much about Kelbrid laboratories, aside from the fact that they are not permitted food and drink! Kelbrids are very clean, despite being covered in toxic slime," he said with a haughty laugh.

<Helpful…> Tobias commented. <So they don't allow food or drink. What about bugs?>

"The One is a computer-based system, so their labs probably aren't insect-proof. Contaminants should not be an issue. And besides, those insects are everywhere! Look, there's one right now!"

Another colorfully-patterned insect was standing against the wall as the three Animorphs marched on. It did not distract them, and they continued for a good few minutes, never changing direction. Kelbrids passed by on numerous occasions, but none stopped to investigate the three little insects.

Soon, they came to the end of the hallway and had to turn right around a corner. Not long after, they halted beside what appeared to be a Kelbrid elevator. It wasn't too dissimilar to a Human elevator, shielded by a circular door that Kelbrids entered and exited through. On the other side was a small cubicle. The Animorphs decided to try it out, and at the best opportunity, crawled in beside an unknowing Kelbrid scientist.

The obvious problem was that they had no idea which floor of the building they would encounter. They must have found that out quickly because when they came back out of the elevator, the insects were in a very similar corridor with no obvious sign as to where they were.

<Go for the ventilation,> Tobias quietly urged.

As if the Animorphs had received the message, the group of three made their way to the nearest vent. They located one soon enough. It was on the ceiling in the middle of the hallway, so they climbed up the wall and took on the challenge of walking upside-down across the ceiling, which turned out not to be an easy task. One of them fell, bouncing lightly on the floor below. On the second attempt, however, the three were plunged into the darkness of the labs' ventilation system. It was too dark for us to see, and so we could do nothing but hope for an undetermined amount of time.

I continued work on the communications device. With the Kelbrids being such an unknown entity for many years, my knowledge of their technology was somewhat lacking. However, the _Enrich_ -given ability to understand their language was coming in very useful. Using the tiny screen on the side, I was able to navigate into various folders. It was a convoluted mess, to say the least: a maze of empty folders and dead-end file paths.

How did Aximili manage to navigate it? Maybe being part of The One allowed – or forced – him to learn the Kelbrid language. Irrelevant, I suppose.

I looked into the folder for deleted messages after spending some time trying to find it. I found that I was denied access. There was some kind of block.

"Oh, look!" Groof called, wrecking my concentration. "I think that may be the lab!"

<Looks something like a lab,> Tobias mused.

I took a break from my job to wander closer to the surveillance screens. I watched from over Tobias' bladed shoulder.

The three insects had crawled out of a ventilation shaft on the wall of a relatively dark room. It was bright enough to make out the shapes of furniture and fixtures, but my eyes were drawn to the various sources of light. There were a lot of small, twinkling lights, probably indicative of individual computers. A far wall was lined with them, coupled with large interfaces and data projections. There were numbers, warnings, and graphs. Swarming in the midst of it all, looming over the Animorphs like giants, were Kelbrid scientists hard at work.

"What a lovely laboratory!"

We both gave Groof a disapproving look.

<At least we can assume they're in the right place,> Tobias uttered, looking back to the screens.

The insects moved on, keeping close to the walls to avoid being stepped on. The Kelbrid scientists were casually at work, transporting documents and sitting at what could only be described as office desks. Holograms shot up here and there, hardly readable from our perspective. At the far end of the lab was a large open space - a walkway of sorts, decorated with large, unused pieces of equipment. They looked mobile, like they could transport larger objects. Trolleys, you could say, as well as bulkier, more complicated machinery.

One of the insects faced the correct way to see a circular door slide open. Two Kelbrids were pushing a hovering table forward, its surface adorned with a large glass dome. Something was inside, covered in a white cloth.

The two Kelbrids were interrupted by one of the scientists, who seemed to cast his eyes over whatever was on the table. He spoke to them, but there was no sound through the camera system that we could pick up on. Regardless of what was said, the Animorphs were rightly suspicious of what was inside that glass dome. They acted quickly to jump onto the underside of the hovering table. Before long, they were moving again, and we watched as the dark, smooth flooring flew by below them.

<Time?> Tobias asked.

I replied, "They've been in morph for forty-eight minutes."

He hummed. <Plenty of time. How's that comms device coming along?>

He stared at me. It was a clear hint that he wanted me to get on with it, and I accepted it. However, I dragged the unit a little closer so that I could see the surveillance better. The Animorphs were still on the underside of the table, but the floor had changed. The room around them was much brighter.

My further attempts to explore Aximili's messages felt increasingly hopeless. The message history folder was still denying me access, the last place I could hope to find anything.

Then, Groof spoke up. "Isn't Kelbrid technology frustrating?" he laughed. "Burr-Ammit tells me all the time! Always a block here, there, and everywhere."

"If you have nothing useful to say, say nothing," I groaned at him.

"Do you want me to help you access all of the hidden data?"

I give him a sideways look, disbelieving. "You know how to access deleted message history?"

"Of course! Burr-Ammit showed me! He's very informative, even when he's high on anti-toxins."

I was skeptical, but it was worth a try. "Okay. What do I do?"

"Take the processor out. You'll find it right in the center. You have to remove a few wires first, but remember where they go!"

I pulled open the cylinder, revealing the innards of the machine. There was a variety of instruments within, but thankfully, it was neatly organized. At the center was a small rectangular box with five clusters of cables going into a series of ports on the side. I memorized the order and then removed them before taking out the black processor unit.

"I've done that," I told Groof, aware that he couldn't see me too clearly.

"There are three buttons on the underside: red, blue, and brown. Press the brown one, and then put the processor back in. Put all the cables back into the ports, but switch the two purple ones. You'll re-route the folder designations. The computer won't recognize what's happened, and place all messages into a single folder, including recently deleted ones!"

I did as he instructed, placing the processing unit back into the machine and replacing the cables. I made sure to switch the purple wires. "Turn it back on?"

"Yes, turn it back on, and your problem is solved!"

I closed up the unit, turned it around, and started it up once more. It started to re-configure.

While that was happening, the infiltration team was making a move, which again pulled on my attention. They had jumped off of the table after it had come to a stop. Through the cameras, I could see the feet of the two Kelbrids tending to whatever was on the table. One of the Animorphs decided it useful to move their leg forward so that we could look up and watch. We saw the underside of the Kelbrids' heads. They lifted the table dome and began to pull aside the cloth. Behind them was some kind of container, large and glowing a bright orange. Wires hung down from the ceiling within.

Then the Kelbrids donned gloves to pull something off of the table, grimacing under the weight. It was a creature.

<Groof, Mendy,> Tobias said. <Either of you recognize that?>

I stepped forward and squinted to see. The creature was mostly shrouded in shadow, and the angle we were looking from didn't give the clearest picture. I could see a stumpy body with a squat, neckless head. Four tentacles sprouted from its side like arms.

Tobias was able to answer his own question. <That's a Leeran.>

"There's no doubt about that," I agreed.

The Kelbrids adjusted the Leeran with their thick, protective gloves and placed it inside the sizeable glowing container. One of the Kelbrids held it in place, while the other began to secure instruments to the unfortunate creature. They fed a small tube into the side of its mouth and attached metal pads to its head. The Leeran was then fastened in with tight grips around its limbs. Once replaced, the Kelbrids stepped back and closed the glass container. The Leeran inside stood, haunting and motionless.

<That must be how they keep The One's hostages,> Tobias uttered. <Strapped into those tubes and wired up to hell.>

I replied, "The Leeran must have been going through some kind of test or replenishment. If they're using the Leeran's brain, then it is being kept alive. Nothing will survive a lifetime spent motionless in a tube."

<So not a form of stasis, then?> Tobias asked.

"Not full stasis," I said. "Some form, maybe, but the brain must be active. Otherwise, the hosts would be useless, assuming our knowledge of The One is accurate."

"You are correct!" Groof called from behind us. "From what we know, The One takes advantage of fully-functioning brains."

<Ax should be there, somewhere,> Tobias said hopefully. He was leaning forward, his snout mere inches from the screens.

The Animorphs scurried away from the working Kelbrids. From what I could tell, the room was vast and circular, emblazoned in bright lights. There was a central concave pillar, totally black. It provided a stark contrast to the overpowering whites and silvers. The only hint of color was the orange, so strong that even the screens' blue tint couldn't erase it. They were tubes — dozens of them.

And in each one, a silhouette. A body.

" _Configuration complete_!"

The monotonous voice of the communications device stunned our silence. I glanced at it and then back to the screen. The Animorphs were moving again, hurrying along the smooth floor.

<Check those messages,> Tobias ordered. <I'll keep an eye on this.>

I obeyed and went back to work. I squatted down beside the pod and began to search through the digital folders again. I found that this time, it was much more straightforward because most of the file paths had gone. It was as if the machine had been reset.

But it kept the messages, just as Groof had suggested, and when I found the correct folder, I was surprised to find fifteen messages, rather than only three.

I selected the first message, and its details greeted me. It was not one of the three that I already knew about, but according to the description, it had been sent only a few minutes before.

I told the machine to play it back.

“ _Neer vullup. Impa vervu jruip rewret o neer awt_.”

I did not expect to be met with Kelbrid language. I listened closer and translated.

" _Position solid, co-ordinates to follow. Ship self-destructed and evidence destroyed. Holding water supply. Should be enough for four days — will request restocking after three. Shelter is held steady and should be suitable for the duration, with landing space in the near vicinity. No sign of Andalite activity thus far, but I shall inform immediately regarding changes. Message end."_

I tried to justify it somehow, but the cold logic shot down everything I tried. The message hadn't been sent on any Andalite frequency I knew. The mere fact that Aximili spoke in the Kelbrid language was a clear sign of how wrong I had been.

And Tobias took the opportunity to dash my pride irreparably, once and for all.

<There he is. They've found him.>


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The surveillance screens looked at him from three different angles, but there was no mistaking what they told. There he was, cocooned in one of those awful orange tubes that were far too small for any respectable alien. He stood tall and motionless, his front legs squeezed up against his torso. His stalk eyes drooped limply over the cables that stuck to the sides of his head.

It was him. That was clear.

Oh, what a fool I had been. What a contemptuous, blithering fool! I had half a mind to throw myself from the ship and leave, to hope that everybody would simply forget my pitiful existence.

<I think we have our answer,> Tobias said, distracting me from my temporary self-loathing. <It's him. The One has been playing us. Tried to bait the Andalites and got us instead.>

"Yes…" I uttered.

<And that message you just played,> Tobias huffed. <That seals it. Now, how do we get him out of there?>

The other Animorphs seemed to be pondering the same question. They paced around Aximili's container for a while, exploring it from different angles. There appeared to be a seal holding the tube shut, and there were no other controls anywhere near it.

"It must be controlled from a centralized system," I speculated.

<That's not the big problem,> Tobias replied. <How do we get him out of there? He can't morph if he's unconscious. They can't drag him out.> Then Tobias gave me a sideways glance. <And we don't know which drugs to tamper with to wake him up.>

I felt a stab of guilt, but I couldn't hold onto that. There were more important matters at hand. "What do we do with… the other one?"

<Who? The clone?> He thought, gazing down at his clawed toes. Then, he swiveled in his chair. <Groof, this clone… What would _Enrich_ do with it?>

Groof jerked as if being involved in any conversation came as some great surprise and an equally great delight. "Clones. Hmm. Well, we're all clones, really, aren't we?!”

<Excuse me?>

"Yes! Semi-clones. Part mother, part father, and part second-father! We're all just a mixing of DNA. The only difference with a clone is that the DNA is only taken from one individual, rather than from multiple!"

<But this isn't just an ordinary clone, surely,> Tobias argued. <If The One is using this clone as bait to gather information, then it's probably programmed to act a certain way.>

"That would imply no free will, of course!" Groof chuckled. "That's a little different."

"Unless the clone was brainwashed into doing such things," I added.

Groof said, "I wish I could tell you more, but not even Burr-Ammit knows the technology of The One.”

<I think this is a problem we can solve later,> Tobias suggested. <Clone-Ax is drugged up for another few hours. Let's just hope Jake and the others can pull out a miracle here.>

Despite Tobias' hope, the others were getting nowhere. They hung around Ax's pod for a while to no avail. Eventually, they moved on, passing by numerous other pods, each with its own frozen alien, few of which I recognized. They were heading for the center of the room, where the large, black pillar lay. It seemed like an obvious choice, but the chances they would figure it out, especially in their current morph, were slim.

But they tried, regardless. They hurried up, down, and around the concave object, passing by buttons and switches and dials. A couple of Kelbrids passed them by, thankfully giving them little notice, but they could only be lucky for so long.

They seemed to formulate a plan. Two of the Animorphs went away from the central computer, back to the area around Aximili's pod, while the third stayed back. Then, they remained static for a good few minutes, waiting for something to happen. Tobias and I exchanged vague possibilities, but we were not in a position to do anything about it. All we could do was watch.

"They've passed two hours in morph," I said as the minutes ticked by. My words did nothing to hurry things along, and it felt like an age before the next action commenced.

Three Kelbrids simultaneously came into view, each bearing the green scarves of the scientists. They spoke to each other - though we could not hear what they were saying - and then separated. One of them went over to the central computer, and whoever it was that hid there followed him closely. Through the one screen, we saw the Kelbrid casually fiddle with various controls before shouting something back to the other two.

They were heading through the maze of orange tubes, followed from a distance by the curious Animorphs. The Kelbrids called back to their peer as they walked and came to a stop beside a single orange tube. The chattering continued amongst themselves as two of our cameras spied on them diligently.

Tobias and I had the perfect view. We could see the tube, and we could also see the single Kelbrid scientist playing with the controls. A gloved, purple claw pressed firmly on a switch, and on the other screens, we saw the orange tube open before his fellows. Now we knew that the pods were all controlled from that central pillar.

But before we could raise our hopes, it all came apart. The Kelbrid at the central computer wandered away from his position, past the Animorph clinging to the computer's side. He noticed the bug, and at first, seemed to shrug it off.

Then, before he could take another step away, he looked again. It was a long, deliberate stare. He squinted, his head approaching to gain a better view.

He was observing the tiny camera that was attached to the Animorph's leg. Before he could take action, the insect bolted upwards, and the world became a horrible, shaking ride as the legs motored. It became impossible to tell where he was going. The other two simultaneously rocketed to the nearest wall, eager to remain unseen.

<We need to be ready to move out,> Tobias said with unbelievable calmness. <They'll find somewhere safer to send us the signal. As soon as that happens, I'm gone. Mendy, can I trust you to move the ship to the southern entrance?>

Suddenly, he trusted me? Even to a small degree?

Of course. He saw the realization on my face. He knew that I'd come to the same conclusion that they'd all come to many days ago. What reason would I have now to abandon them?

"Yes, you can," I replied.

<Okay. Now we just wait for the signal.>

The screens showed nothing but nightmarish shaking as the three insects powered away from the open areas. One-by-one, they slowed to a stop in places less exposed by lighting. We could see very little now.

Perhaps they had climbed back into the ventilation systems, or maybe drainage. Either way, they were closed in and alone. It wasn't long before two of the insects turned towards each other, giving us a clear view as one of them started to demorph. They demorphed enough to make it obvious and then reversed back to full insect — the signal.

And without hesitation, Tobias began to make his change. His green skin turned a deep shade of blue, spreading from his head down to his toes. His body began to widen, growing squat. His beak softened, turning into the ratty little nose of the _kelbird_.

I took my place in front of the ship's controls. It was not something I'd had much time to familiarize myself with. However, I knew how to activate the engines and wasted no time in getting the ship ready to move. I waited for Tobias to depart before moving.

When he finished, he bobbed along the floor and waited for me to open the hatch. He dropped from the ship, and through the ship's visor, I saw him fly directly for the base. He would pick up the three insects and bring them back. My job was to reduce the distance he had to travel.

My eyes found the surveillance screens again. The three insects had met up and headed in an unknown direction. It would not be long for them to find a way outside to meet Tobias, but that was not the central issue. If the Kelbrids were alerted to insects carrying cameras, they could not afford to be spotted. No doubt, the Kelbrid soldiers would be surrounding the building in search of any of the bizarre insects.

Now to get the ship moving. It dawned on me that maybe Jake had made a mistake in letting me drive the vessel when I had no experience manning the cockpit. Unless…

"The thrusters need to be adjusted for takeoff," Groof spoke up from behind me. "Dial C. Turn it to ninety."

I did that, and there was a slight buzz around the ship.

He continued. "Now the acceleration lever. Pull it down to half."

When I followed his instructions, I saw the Kelbrid landscape slowly start to fall away from us. Within seconds, we were clear of the abandoned construction site.

But I didn't have time to learn the workings of the ship. I had a choice to make. I looked to Groof, who met my gaze. "You are more suited to this role than I am," I said.

"Correct!" he stated. "Humans only have two hands, of course, and your feet are practically useless for operating the gyroscope!"

I considered the options and swiftly concluded that he, like me, had very little to gain by running. I jumped behind his table, and one-by-one released the restraints. He flumped to the floor and cheered for his freedom.

"Oh, I'm so stiff!" he laughed, chattering his lobster-like claws. "Isn't it wonderful to have functioning limbs, unlike the Yurrect?"

"We don't have time for your inane quips," I urged. "We need to get to the southern entrance and-"

"My _nothlit_ friend, I know that plan! I paid full attention. Let's go!"

He took control of the cockpit, allowing me to attend to the surveillance screens once more. We turned and headed for our planned destination while the Animorphs continued winding their way through the dark tunnel of the laboratory ventilation.

<Tobias, can you hear me?> I called privately.

There came no answer. He must have flown deep into the base already.

We arrived at the southern entrance of the base, flying a good thirty meters up. Below, the Kelbrid guards appeared to be rapidly ramping up security. They stopped people from entering or leaving and were doing security checks for anybody in the vicinity.

"What are the chances of us being found in this position?" I asked Groof warily.

"Approximately one-in-five," he replied. "The cloak is effective, but there is a small chance that the Kelbrid radars will pick up some slight distortion, since we’re so close."

"And what are the chances of us being found if we hovered closer to the laboratory?"

"Hmm… about one-in-three. We'll be closer still to the base radars."

How easily would the Kelbrids see Tobias lifting away three guilty insects? Would he even get close enough to the building without being shot down by jumpy soldiers? We could see the Kelbrids organizing to counter the infiltration through the cockpit visor, but would they suspect an otherwise inconspicuous native bird?

There were other birds around. Were they being shot down? Were the Kelbrids that panicked?

No. Nobody was shooting the other birds down. I thanked the stars that Kelbrids were still not used to the idea that the morphing power could be used against them so close to home. I couldn't imagine that that would be the case for too long, especially after today.

The brightness of the surveillance screens changed drastically. They emerged from whatever tunnel they'd entered into, and all I could see for a moment was the Kelbrid sky. Then, they leveled out, and I saw the roof of the laboratory from one corner. They'd made the right decision to exit that way.

Between them, a bird fluttered down. Tobias. The insects scurried over and clambered onto the bird's stumpy legs.

"Kelbrid scouting ships deployed in the area!" Groof announced. "They're closing in on the lab. Four of them."

Tobias flapped his one wing and gained some altitude, but as soon as he had done so, the smoothened visage of a Kelbrid ship came into view. It was egg-shaped and gleaming, which was the standard for their designs.

Perhaps Tobias sensed that they'd picked him up because instead of going directly for our position, he swooped downwards abruptly. We saw the many heads of Kelbrid soldiers, some of whom looked up and noticed the suspicious bird. They couldn't react quickly enough, and Tobias flew out of their reach and down a narrow series of alleyways, heading southwest of the lab. He turned a few corners until he reached one of the nooks that Jake had planned as an emergency hiding spot. It was behind a garbage disposal facility, and for the moment, they were blocked from sight by a clutter of disposal units. Almost immediately, the Animorphs began to change, and the early signs pointed to them going _Kelbird_ , like Tobias.

But by the time they could take flight once again, the Kelbrids would have figured to take down any bird sighted.

The scouting ships were spreading across the base. Though they were some way from us, we could see that they were taking down any bird that emerged. Lighting-like charges zapped at any creature taking flight. Whether the blow was fatal or just stunned the birds, we couldn't tell. Neither case was desirable.

"We need to go in," I determined. "If they fly, they'll be brought back down. Are you able to take the ship to their position?"

"That's hardly even a challenge!" Groof retorted.

We rose away from the southern entrance and crossed the boundary into the base. It made me nervous, recalling Groof's odds on us getting caught, but it was a risk I felt it necessary to take.

"Hideout 1," I said. "Just southwest of the labs, four-hundred-and-fifty meters."

"I can bring the ship just above the waste disposal facility," Groof replied. "It will be straight up for them."

"How long for us to escape atmosphere from that position?"

"Three minutes if we rush."

I nodded. "As soon as they're back on board, take us out of the atmosphere. Once outside, take us far from _Kyritlyp_. We can't be here any longer than we need to."

"Ay ay, Human _nothlit_!"

Our cloak seemed to keep us well-hidden as we crept our way over the base, carefully maintaining a substantive distance from the tops of the various buildings. I started to call out to the others, hoping soon to get in range to instruct them.

<Jake! Tobias! This is Menderash. Do not move from your position! We're coming!>

"Approaching the waste disposal facility!" Groof announced.

<Jake! Tobias!>

A reply came. <Mendy! Is that you?!>

<Yes, Jake,> I called. <The Kelbrids are taking down any wildlife they see. We're coming in to collect you. Don't move from your current position!>

<We're at Hideout 1,> Jake informed. <Hanging out behind a dumpster.>

<That happens more often than I would like,> Marco added. <Garbage boy… That would be my superhero name.>

We arrived above the hideout, still cloaked. Groof was very aware of one of the scout ships gradually approaching. It wouldn't be long before it collided with us, assuming it didn't manage to sense our invisible ship beforehand.

"Open the hatch," I told Groof, and he did so.

<Jake! We are above you, and we've opened the hatch. If you fly directly upwards, you should enter the ship. There is a Kelbrid scouter approaching, so you must be quick.>

<We can't see anything!> he responded.

Groof clarified, "While we are cloaked, the hatch is also invisible."

"Is there no way to guide them in?"

"Throw something out!" Groof suggested.

Throw something out… I looked around the compartment, searching for anything that I could dispose of without regret. <Jake, I will drop something out of the hatch!>

<Gotcha. Tell us when.>

There were few loose items around that seemed disposable. In the end, I took one of the restraints that had previously held Groof to his table. It was a circular, adjustable strap, large enough to be seen easily. I held it over the hatch. <I'll drop out a black strap!>

<Okay, Mendy! On the count of three, we'll fly up, and you drop the strap. 3… 2… 1… Go!>

I dropped the strap, and it disappeared into the white glow of the hatch.

<There it is! Saw it!>

I stepped back, just as the four birds shot into the ship. They swerved just before colliding with the hard ceiling.

"They're in, Groof!" I shouted to the cockpit. "Take us out of the atmosphere!"

"Out of the atmosphere!" he repeated, and in no time, we were watching the base descending as we rose into the clouds.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

We escaped the atmosphere with no Kelbrid resistance. A few minutes longer, and we would be swarmed, but no alien race was quite prepared for the technology that _Enrich_ supplied. That, and we'd caught them off guard. Jake was wise to have struck when he did, with the Kelbrids under the assumption that we'd take Aximili and head in the other direction.

But despite our escape, the fallout would be dreadful for all of us, and some tough talks would follow. The first question was obvious: What to do with the clone Aximili?

I stood over him, thinking of that very question. He breathed lightly, unconscious to the world. He would feel no pain if I ended him there and then. That wasn't my choice, though, and I'd learned very quickly that I had to consider the others.

Not for altruism's sake, of course. For my own safety. I was walking many tightropes.

Jake came into the aft compartment, where I had been left alone with Aximili. He started with a muted sigh and held himself with one hand rested on Aximili's table. Then, he looked at me. Examined me.

"You found some more messages," he started.

"Yes, Jake. They were spoken in Kelbrid. Co-ordinates, timings, refuel requests… he was speaking to the Kelbrid military."

He nodded. "So. Any further doubts?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "This is indeed a clone, as you suspected. If not a clone, then something similar."

I thought that maybe he'd humiliate me in some way, either by rubbing in the fact that I had been wrong or lecturing me. But he did neither. He just stared down at the clone Aximili and pondered for solutions.

"We may have just blown any opportunity for infiltrations in morph," he uttered. "I can't imagine the Kelbrids will allow bugs anywhere near their labs from now on. A smart person always learns from their mistakes. The more mistakes they make, the smarter they become. Not accounting for infiltration via the Andalite morphing technology was a mistake."

"How do you suppose we will save Aximili if we can't sneak into the laboratories again?" I asked.

"I suppose Surote might have something up his metal sleeves, assuming he doesn't have us killed for stealing Groof and his ship, which, by the way, is not too unlikely."

"He would have me killed if he knew what I did."

Jake smiled. It was slight but noticeable. "He doesn't have to know what happened down here."

"You show me far more mercy than I deserve."

He shook his head. "No. We want the same thing, Mendy. We're not enemies. We just have different ideas on how we achieve the same goal. Now, though," he said, casting his eyes to Aximili again. "I think our ideas are more closely aligned. Do you agree?"

"I agree."

"Good. I won't tell Surote anything, and neither will Groof."

"You're sure about that?"

He cocked his head slightly. "You don't happen to be wearing any earrings under that hair of yours, do you?"

"No," I replied, pulling back my black curls to demonstrate.

He chuckled. "I'll find some somewhere."

I was more skeptical than he was portraying himself to be. "Are you sure that you can buy his silence with jewelry, Jake? The creature has devoted his life to _Enrich_. The fact that we mutinied is something that he will probably let slip."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "The earrings are to keep him quiet about you. The mutiny… well, let's just hope we catch Surote in a good mood. We'll tell him ourselves, rather than let Groof do it. Otherwise, it may seem to Surote like we're trying to hide it. If we can explain that we did it purely to save Ax and that we came back and allowed Groof his ship… maybe he'll let us off death row."

"You seem awfully calm about all this," I pointed out.

Jake shrugged. "Doing the wrong thing scares me. Letting down those close to me scares me. I did the right thing, and I did it for somebody that I care about. I'm not scared of Surote. Besides, what justice would be served by killing us?"

"Perhaps you're right," I said.

"We won't stop," Jake insisted. "We're in this for Ax. We know where he is now. We know how he's being held, and we, like the Kelbrids, have made our mistakes. Let's hope we can outsmart them again, next time."

"I have underestimated you, Jake," I told him. "I thought of you as a broken warrior, and maybe, in a lot of ways, you are — a broken warrior leading a broken team. And yet, somehow, you persevere. I don't know how you do it."

"Luck, maybe."

"No, Jake, it's not luck. I don't know what it is, but it's certainly not that."

He took one last look at Aximili and then folded his arms over his chest. "Listen, we're about to zap back to _Enrich_. We're going to find Surote, and we'll take whatever punishment he decides to give us. After that, we keep pressing. We keep going. We'll tell them what we saw in the labs, and maybe that'll be enough information for Surote to chew on that he decides to go a little easier on us. The question is, Mendy: Are you still with us?"

I did not need to think long. Jake was right: Every mistake makes us stronger. Makes us wiser.

"Yes, Jake. I'm with you."


End file.
